About a soldier
by i am ghost
Summary: GaaNeji, Yaoi. A redhaired warrior with a dark past ends up in a predicament: Having lost all his memories, he ends up being a prisioner of the Hyuuga family and everything gets a turn for the worst when he falls in love with the wrong person.
1. introduction

story by: IamGhost

Disclaimer: I do not own Naruto or any of it's characters.

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Introduction

_A battle cry was heard, but oh it was no ordinary war cry, it was the only one that made all foes shiver with fright, it was the only one capable of bringing all the enemies on their knees and begging for mercy, it was the only one that even frightened allies; it was the one that signaled that Sabaku no Gaara was angry, very angry. _

_With no hesitation he slaughtered, even if the enemy was crying and begging for compassion, he relished bathing on the blood of his enemies wantonly as dark desire for seeing pain and feeling pain invaded the berserk redhead. He only felt good when fighting and he would always crave for more, more crimson rivers and lifeless bodies littering the ground, he always prayed for a new red moon, for another fight to be in. _

_"Get out of the way, Kankurou!" he growled, blood splattered all over their armors as the vicious redhead plunged his darkened sword into the chest of an enemy and straight into its heart, instantly killing him. "Gaara…we are outnumbered by the enemy, I think we should pull back" his brother stated, parrying the sword of another adversary. "No we shan't! We can't turn back defeated to our king…I shall die than facing that humiliation" the brunette growled and signaled for the rest of the army to retreat. "Stop being so damn proud and start to value your life!" his brother shouted as their allies started to back away. "NO! We're not retreating, not unless I'm dead" he roared, signaling angrily to his allies to go back to their positions. "Damn you and you're pride" his brother stated before running into the crowd and out of the sight of the blood-thirsty redhead. _

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_He was tired and he needed to rest._

_His body ached from the previous fight; his left eye was blurred with blood from a wound not far away from his brow and he supposed he had a pretty bad injury near his right hip, for warm blood was starting to ruin his rich clothing and armor._

_His breathing had become shallow and his steps were imprecise and short._

_A violent cough seized him, blood coming out of his mouth._

_He definitely needed to rest._

_He released a sigh of resignation while his limbs gave out and he collapsed to the floor with a metallic thud._

_The cold and harsh wind sent shivers down his spine while he tried to sit down with vain movements, but the weight of his own armor pulled him back nonetheless and a sharp pain in his left knee made his eyes water; he knew he couldn't do anything about it, so he lied down and closed his eyes, defeated and ashamed like the fallen warrior he was._

_In the midst of his self pity and shame he swore he heard the wind whispering his name softly, while the ghost of a touch in his forehead cooled his approaching fever._

_A small smile adorned his rosy lips…he was already delirious._

_Just then his life played in front of his half-lidded eyes, all the battles won, all the beasts defeated, all the bloodshed, pain and fear he had inflicted on foes and the pride he had given to his king…_

_Who would have known that such a hero would die in that way?_

_Maybe it was his heavenly punishment for being an assassin, to die alone in terrible agony, to be forgotten and carried away by the wind in ashes._

_He was supposed to bring endless fame and glory to Ulster; he was supposed to die in a heroic way…not alone in some unknown forest, feeding his flesh willingly to the vultures and other beasts roaming in the heart of the forest._

_His aquamarine eyes narrowed with anger._

_He couldn't die._

_Not like this._

_Something like fire coursed through his veins, warming his cold body and numbing his pain._

_It was the strength of determination._

_With shaking hands he seized an arrow sticking inside his thigh and pulled, biting back a howl and drawing blood from his lower lip._

_He threw away the bloodied stick, wincing when blood poured down his wound like a raging river._

_An unknown strength invaded his limbs, just the enough amount to lift him up from the ground with a soft clatter from his metal armor._

_He couldn't die…he was Gaara, the hero who brought smiles to his people, the hero who slaughtered every enemy standing in his way without mercy. He was the son of a god._

_He just…couldn't die._

_With that mysteriously renewed strength he walked with clumsy steps, repeating those words like a mantra, not knowing where he was heading; only knowing that he wanted to live._

_After a few minutes his line vision came in contact with a small brown spot in a clearing not very far away from him. He narrowed his eyes, trying to see better but blurred spots of green. The brown spot turned out to be a small cabin._

_With a triumphant smile he quickened his pace, his hand cleaning out the sweat and blood on his forehead._

_Knocking on the wooden door, he waited and waited for what it seemed like an eternity. His head was spinning and the sharp pain in his hip had spread like poison to his lower stomach. He started to feel the weakness overpowering his sense of survival, his vision started to fade to darkness and his already astonishing pale skin turned paler and all that he could remember before falling into oblivion was light, surprised pale eyes and a gasp._

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	2. a lack of remembrance and suspicious eye

Story by: Iamghost

Disclaimer: i do not own Naruto or any of its characters.

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Darkness….all he could see was darkness, nothing else, just a dark void. Was he dead? Was he already in hell to pay for all his sins?

No…He was not in hell, for he couldn't hear the devilish voices, or feel the torture he would be by now suffering. So...if he was not hell, then where was he?

He tried to move, but something like a warm cocoon embraced tightly his numb body, preventing him from doing brusque movements. His body was immobile and resting on something soft. The temperature was pleasant, not too hot nor too cold. For a while he rest, content just by laying in that soft cushion.

But being the impatient creature he was, he tried to move a hand but it didn't obeyed his command, then he tried to move a leg but a very sharp pain spread all over his body like poison before something moist lubricated the brim of his eyelids.

Then he tried to start by moving a finger, but the damn appendage wouldn't budge. Then he tried to open his eyes, but as much as a joke it sounded, he couldn't even open one eyelid, both were as heavy as lead.

He growled in annoyance, was the great Gaara being teased by his own body?

There was a soft yelp and a racking sound and then he felt it. Something warm tickled the sensitive skin of his eyelids, darkness turned into an orange glow and he groaned, trying to shut the light out.

"Cousin…is he awake?" he heard a soft little voice ask in a hushed tone. He furrowed his inexistent eyebrows. That voice sounded too real and earthlike to be the mocking voices of demons.

He stirred and fluttered open slightly his eyes only to try to shield them from the blinding light coming from god knows where.

There was another light yelp and the warm orange glow dimmed considerably and another voice, this one more pleasant than the last hushed a soft _"get out"_ and there was silence, which was only interrupted by a grinding sound. Little by little he opened his eyes; heavy dark red eyelashes gave birth to bright aquamarine jewels. He squinted and narrowed his eyes, trying to see more than just blurred distorted spots of white and black, only to fail.

His impertinent fists collided against his eyes in a frantic scrubbing motion, and he was more than surprised to find that it improved his eyesight dramatically.

He realized just then that the cocoon was only a bunch of crumpled bed sheets, and the blinding light came from a window with flimsy curtains.

An urgent desire to laugh invaded him because of his silliness, but it disappeared quickly when his eyes fell on a feminine body staring at the opposite way.

Soft dark hair gently pulled into a long ponytail fell over sculpted shoulders that narrowed into a small waist and then widened to tempting hips.

He sat down as careful as he could, being especially tender to his left leg. Sensing the rustling of the sheets, the figure tensed and turned around swiftly, revealing a mortar and a pestle resting on his arms.

The redhead's eyes widened considerably, his intense lime green eyes staring at the beautiful face; it was the epitome of grace, almost to the point of divinity.

He corrected himself. He was not in hell; he was in heaven, for there was no such refined beauty in hell.

"Are you alright?" a soft unearthly voice left thin rosy lips. He nodded, wordless and breathless. Those alluring lips stretched into a delicate smile, barely visible; but what really took away his breath were those eyes, he couldn't tell if they were white or grey, but one thing was for sure…they were captivating.

The silver-eyed boy placed the mortar and pestle on the small nightstand to his left and poured water on a glass from a pitcher and leant slightly on his knees, offering him the glass of cold water, which the redhead took gladly and muttered a rough thank you, draining the needed liquid along his sore throat before it pleasantly cooled his insides.

"Are you alright?" the young man hovering above him asked and he nodded slightly, taking in his disheveled appearance offered by a naked mirror hanging from the opposite wall.

"Where am I?" he asked in a raspy tone, looking at the rather empty room before him. The brunette took away the empty glass and returned to his work at hand, grinding some mysterious green powder. "You're in the land of Alba" the young boy said, pouring the powder into a stone basin filled with water.

"I may as well ask your name, for all I know about you is that you crawled all the way here, to the brink of death, yet strong enough to live". The redhead winced slightly as he removed sweat-drenched locks of red hair from his upset eyes, scrapping a small wound above his eyebrow.

"My name is…" the redhead gapped his mouth like a fish out of water and his eyes widened to the size of saucers, dread filling those beautiful eyes. "I…my name…" he mumbled. His gray matter was trying hard to remember anything about his identity, but his mind was blank. His head started to throb, as if an invisible hammer was trying to tear his skull in half.

The brunette raised a delicate eyebrow while drenching a discarded rag into the bowl.

"Who am I?" the redhead asked himself silently, his eyes lost. The brunette touched the redhead's forehead and he was not surprised to find a fever building up. A small frown marred his perfect features as the redhead shivered away from the cool touch.

"Now, I want you to lay still and close your eyes…I'm going to cleanse all the wounds in your body" the brunette informed him, peeling the sheets from his sweat-drenched body. The redhead felt awfully exposed as the chilly air caressed his body. "Don't worry, this is not going to hurt" with those words spoken, the young man shed off the bandages on his chest and dabbed the multiple bruises and lacerations not too gently with the rag. The redhead's eyes shot open with agony as he squirmed. "Crap! Not going to hurt? My unholy arse!" he cursed colorfully, making the brunette chuckle under his breath. "Hush and sleep, you need to rest".

As soon as the brunette had finished cleaning and dressing the redhead's wounds he exited the room, coming face to face to a frail older version of his. His smile dropped into a thin line as he faced the older man. "He's asleep now" the man nodded, sitting on the nearest chair. "How is he?" the brunette shifted his gaze to his younger cousin. "He lost his memory, but he'll survive" he stated. The older man nodded silently before reaching out for his cane. "Perfect, I'll go to town and ask for his reward, but we need him healthy if we want to claim the reward; and you…- he pointed to a young woman sitting silently by the dining table, her pretty grey eyes fixed on the floor. –keep him well fed or I'll make sure to punish you." With that being said the man walked with difficulty out of the door.

The girl stood up violently, her upset eyes holding tears of regret and anger. "I cannot do this, Neji!" she cried, her timidity thrown out of the window. The brunette was shocked beyond comprehension. There she was, standing out, telling that it was against her goodwill, determination gripping her eyes. He always thought that she would be as docile as ever, but it seemed that he was wrong. "Bite your tongue, woman" he said coldly, ready to turn around and leave, but her once sweet and small voice that was now loud and shaking stopped him dead on his track. "You can tell me to shut my mouth, but you will never tell me what to think about it…you, murderer!" said man turned around swiftly and angrily smacked her across the face, sending her tumbling back. Her eyes widened with shock and humiliation while their youngest cousin was looking between them, terrified and weeping silently into her hand. "Shut up and do as you are told, we can't do anything else. It's his welfare or our own, do you understand?!" he shouted, his beautiful face contorted with pure anger. The young woman was about to retort when the girl cried out, telling them to stop. Seeing his youngest cousin sobbing made his stomach lurch with regret. "Hanabi, go to your room" he said quietly before walking away, leaving both his cousins to cry and hold each other on the dining room, helpless.

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AN: i know i might be too greedy for my own good, but...keep reviewing!!! D 


	3. all for the sake of the family

Story by: Iamghost

Disclaimer: i do not own Naruto or any of its characters

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A week had passed. 

The redhead was staring at the ceiling, bored beyond comprehension. He had tried to stand up from the bed a thousand times, only to stumble back, with reopened wounds and protesting body, so he had opted to just lay down and wait for someone to go and give him something to do or at least talk to him, but his wish was not granted, for he was all alone in that bloody room for the rest of the day.

The sun was already setting, bathing the small room in an orange glow. He folded his arms behind his head and tried, maybe for the thousandth time, to remember anything, but it seemed that his brain was blank, empty, devoid of one single thought that could lead him even to discover his name or why the hell he was all bruised.

Finally, his ears perked up when he heard steps and he hoped it was the brunette with a new plant to grind in his mortar and more clean bandages to clean his wounds and redressed them, but his hope was shattered when a young woman darted in, her face hidden with her short black hair.

He sat up on the bed, his eyes wide with curiosity. He had seen the girl many times before, she always brought him delicious food but she never said anything, let alone dare to look him in the eyes. She would always walk in; put the dish in his nightstand and leave. _Was she just shy?_

"Hey…" the redhead said, trying to gain the attention from the silent girl. Said girl turned around and stared blankly at him. Her eyes reminded him of the nameless boy…the only difference was that his eyes were lighter and had a lilac hue in them.

"y-Yes?" she stuttered, a pink flush engulfing her face. "I just want to thank you and your family for keeping care of me" he said, a gentle and true smile tugging at his lips softly. "And if there's a way I can repay you…" he trailed off, uncertain o f what to offer, because he didn't know if he was poor before he lost his memory, he didn't want to disappoint them and he surely didn't want to be a burden.

There was something like torment and regret in those shy eyes, he was not sure if he had imagined it though, because as soon as it had settled it disappeared, masked with indifferent cheeriness. "Don't worry; maybe when you're completely healed you could help us with the maintenance of the farm" she said in her sweet voice before bowing and leaving the room. The redhead sighed. The last thing he wanted was to make uncomfortable his food supplier. He just wanted to stark a conversation, but it seemed that somehow he had managed to offend her.

He stood up carefully, making sure to not reopen any upset injury and limped towards the window, trying to see anything else but wood. He was tired of dull brown sceneries.

There was a moderately long patch of dark soil where small sprouts peeked its way out to the shinning sun, a lake with a watermill, an empty stable, two barns and a bickering flock of chickens chased down by a small little girl with long dark hair. He smiled; maybe it wasn't a bad idea to stay a bit longer.

Just as he was about to flop down again on the bed, he saw the nameless boy walking down the road towards the watermill, carrying a large bowl with him in which he took water greedily before disappearing at the backdoor of the house.

The redhead quickly threw himself in the bed, wincing when his injuries protested, but his heart was beating fast and he was smiling contently, for he was sure that he was going to see the unidentified boy again.

* * *

Neji walked into the kitchen, throwing the bowl of fresh water into the dining table. "Go and cure the redhead" he commanded, not looking directly at the woman kneeling in front of a stone oven, preparing what appeared to be mutton. "I'm preparing diner, go and help the man yourself" the brunette narrowed his eyes with displeasure and Hanabi, who had been playing with the pretty shells she had collected from the river was staring at both of them with sudden apprehension. The atmosphere had turned tense, but gladly for both the man only tensed his jaw, picked up the bucket of water and left, showing his discontentment by shutting the door hard. "Sister…" the little girl said feebly, her pretty grey eyes holding tears, when the short haired girl turned around to face her with a questioning look, Hanabi threw herself at her, holding her close. "Why is cousin acting so weird lately?" Hinata closed her eyes and played with her little sister's hair, trying to calm her down. "Death changed him" the little girl buried her face in her sister's comforting arms, feeling content and protected. "Is there a way to make him happy again?" Hinata wiped away her sister's tears, and she asked herself the very same question before falling to the painful conclusion. "No if the redhead stays any longer" with those words spoken she turned around and paid attention to the mutton. The last thing she wanted was the mutton to have ashes and her sneering cousin telling her that she couldn't even prepare a decent diner.

* * *

He was not sure if it was alright to be feeling this way, if it was alright for him to be admiring so shamelessly the beautiful boy, but even if it was wrong, he couldn't help but stare. 

"it seems that your wounds have healed perfectly…you should be able to leave tomorrow if you want" the brunette said, a look of concentration marring his face as he took away the last bloodied bandage before replacing them with clean ones.

The redhead's eyes widened with fright and apprehension. He didn't want to leave yet…if he did, where would he go? What will he do without his memories? "I want to stay a few more days…" he explained, trying not to sound too desperate. "I mean, I still want to repay you all for your kindness...I would be glad to help in the barn" he trailed off, staring at the white bed sheets that somehow had entangled around his legs. The boy in question merely raised a delicate eyebrow at him. "I'll ask father when he returns home" the redhead's eyes glimmered with renewed hope and he said a few thank you's until the boy decided to go. "If you need anything you can go out to the kitchen, there's always someone in there-" "wait" the redhead exclaimed, grasping the brunette's attention. "What's your name?" with a mere quirk of an eyebrow and a small "Neji" as an answer, the boy turned around and left, capturing the attention of the mesmerized redhead, who was now enraptured by the movements of his hair as it fell over his shoulders like ink on the finest parchment.

The redhead was not a fool. The fact that he had lost his memory didn't mean that he had lost his better judgment and conscience. He was sure that that strange attraction towards the other male was not something good. In fact it was quite the opposite. He should be by now hitting himself with the nearest object around, or trying to think in other things, such as women and food and manly matters…

The redhead growled with despair and annoyance. His better judgment and conscience be damned. He just wanted to kill himself. He rather wished to confront that dishonor than being mentally troubled for the rest of his life, but here he was, whispering that name over and over again, a remnant of a smile curling his lips into a small smile.

_When had his masculinity decided to abandon him so recklessly?  
_

* * *

"The Normans offered me a very tempting fee for the redhead, but I decided to wait until they're desperate enough to pay more than the accorded" father said to his audience, consisting of a little girl playing with his ragdoll, an indifferent young woman serving dinner and a young man that was actually paying attention to him. 

"About that matter, uncle Hiashi…the warrior is completely healed by now and he should be able to leave, but I convinced him into staying a bit longer; he even asked me if he could help us with chores, he's so desperate…but actually I think it would be a great idea to have another pair of hands to help us with the cattle and sheep." The impassive brunette said, gaining the attention of his uncle and the disapproving eye of Hinata, who, afraid to be smacked again for her "insolence" bit her tongue and refrained of doing anything that might upset them. Foolish men, they thought they were the only ones graced with brains, she angrily thought to herself while cutting bread aggressively.

After a while of thinking carefully the older man approved for their guest to help with chores, if the chores only consisted of helping in the Hyuuga grounds. He didn't want to have the misfortune of someone recognizing the infamous redhead.

"You will be the one responsible for the redhead; you need to be around him as much as you can and do not, I repeat, DO NOT let the redhead interact with outsiders. Understood?" the young man nodded courteously, but that didn't assure that he was very devoted and thrilled by the idea of being too near to the despicable redhead at all; but he had to, for his family's sake.

Hiashi was drinking a glass of cheap wine, a content smile gracing his usually grim face. If the Normans happened to raise the payment his family would have enough money again to consider themselves as rich as they were once. His smile turned into a nasty sneer. But _oh, what an irony_, he thought, for the very same redhead that had sent them into poverty all those years ago was going to make them rich again, filthy rich.

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AN: i love reviews, they are my life source...so click that pretty little button, smile and tell me if you like it or not. (i hope it is the first one)

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	4. confusing emotions

Disclaimer: i do not own Naruto or any of its characters.

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The redhead saw the sunset and sunrise, as he had discovered days before that he couldn't sleep more than 3 hours a day. It was odd, but he didn't have the need to sleep more than that. 

The days seem endless, drifting apart with the death and rebirth of the sun; but when he saw the new sunlight streaming from the small window that day he decided that he needed to do something and get out of the room. So he had scrambled out of bed with the resolution clear in his mind, and with the delicacy and grace he didn't possess he peeled off the bandages and put on the clean clothes that were set on the desk previously by an ever reluctant Neji. Stretching and yawning was something he just didn't do, so after grimacing at his insomnia rimmed eyes on the mirror and trying to comb unsuccessfully his wild hair he opened the door to face a brand new day.

But what he didn't expect was to see so many pair of white eyes staring at him from the dining table, and the cheerful morning chatter exchanged between the family had died and being replaced by a sudden and uncomfortable silence. After some tense seconds, Hinata, the gentle young woman with short hair stood up from her chair and offered him a seat next to an unenthusiastic looking Neji. "Come and have breakfast with us" she said, her soft smile contrasting with the serious atmosphere; and he, who had looked as if he was a poor frightened dear, took hesitant steps until he was fully seated. A young girl with the same strange eyes was seating across from him and she was doing funny faces at him, a vain attempt to calm down the restless atmosphere while Hinata served him fresh bread, tea and oatmeal. The redhead said a feeble thank you and a few mechanical greetings to everyone and especially to the older man that he hadn't seen since his arrival in the house. Hinata and the other girl exchanged nervous glances while they ate silently, but when the redhead was about to give a bite Neji stood up from his chair violently, gaining the attention of everyone. Before excusing himself, he gave a disgusted look at the redhead and threw his napkin on the plate. A few minutes of silence and everyone exchanged looks, the man at the head of the table sighed before excusing himself too, leaving the two apologetic girls and the confused redhead alone.

Hinata and the other girl stood up and started to clean the table silently, as if nothing had happened, and the redhead, who was feeling out of place, decided to leave, but he stopped when he reached the door as he overheard the furious voice of Neji, talking heatedly with the older man. _"I can't stand to eat in the same table as him and you should understand me"_ he cried hotly, and there was silence before the door was yanked open, revealing a furious looking Neji. Without much of a glare he stomped away to a room left of his own, and soon enough entered the older man, who gave him a blank stare before walking to his own bedroom.

The confused and embarrassed redhead directed a questioning look at Hinata, who tried to avoid eye contact at all costs.

* * *

After not a very good start of the day, the redhead went out of the house, for he couldn't stand the tense atmosphere and the nervous glances thrown at him by the only two females in the household, and now he was glaring at his own reflection in the clear lukewarm water of the pond, silently laying all faults on his poor mute twin who was looking just as disturbed as he was. 

_What had he done __to Neji? _He had been nothing but nice to the always aggravated teen, who, by some unknown reason avoided him as much as he could…but then again, there were those hidden glances he threw whenever he thought the redhead wasn't looking, glances that people only threw the ones they hate the most. The redhead frowned, throwing a flat rock on the pond and watching the ripples it created in the water. Something was amiss; he wasn't a fool or naïve; just because he had lost his memory didn't imply that his common sense had vanished along. That family was hiding something from him, but he was going to find out, even if they didn't want him to.

Throwing another rock into the pond, the redhead sighed as he thought about himself. What would he do if something wrong happened? Who will he turn into, where will he go and how will he survive in such a harsh world? He was so vulnerable in that state of memory loss that he was afraid that people would take advantage of it and use him to their advantage. He hoped he was just overreacting, but there was this uneasy feeling in his gut that told him to be alert and not trust those people.

Neji appeared out of nowhere, his eyes hard and distant and his beautiful face so immobile and graceful as a statue carved in marble by the expert hands of an artist. "Do you want to help me with some chores?" he asked nonchalantly in that cold, unfeeling voice, as if the tantrum he had just made didn't take place just a moment before. The redhead blinked, gave a fake smile and stood up; dusting off his dark leggings from any dirt and grass they had possibly caught. "Of course, Neji" he said, his deep voice pleasant and soft. Looking at the smiling redhead as if he was a rather nasty tarantula, he snorted. "It's Hyuuga for you" he hissed and the redhead cringed at the poison-loaded words. Noting that he had sounded rude, the brunette shook his head, his sleek braided hair falling over his shoulders limply and he tried to smile, but it looked fake and awkward to the eyes of the redhead. Turning on his heels, the brunette regarded Gaara with his ethereal almond shaped eyes. "Follow me"

* * *

The redhead frowned, yet again. He was apologizing too much for his own liking and he was growing frustrated, that damned brunette was never pleased, everything he did was never good enough and he had, at least, done three times each chore set to him because the Hyuuga had arched an elegant eyebrow at him crossly, telling him that it wasn't well done and that he should do it again. 

He didn't know if Neji took a sick pleasure in enslaving him, but he was almost to the brink of insanity due to his _'__inability__ to do things right'_as Neji had kindly said.

His hands were dirty, he was sweating everywhere because of the immense heat provided by the ruthless sun, his obnoxiously long hair was matted to his head and attacking his eyes and his wounds prickled in protest with every movement he made. He wanted nothing more but to strip and dive in the pond, which appeared to be very tempting to his eyes at the moment.

"Are you even listening to me?" the brunette snapped angrily at the redhead in the middle of his rant of _'how to cut wood properly'_. "As I was saying before you decided not to pay attention. Do you honestly believe that this is properly cut?" he asked while flinging what appeared to be a perfectly cut piece of lumber, emphasizing thickly the word '_This_ _'._ The redhead rolled his eyes, as much as he was attracted to the Hyuuga, at the moment he just wanted him to shut up and go away. He was provoking him a huge headache with his slightly feminine voice that was all but yelling at him.

"It looks perfect" he growled to the nagging brunette, his grip tightening on the axe until his knuckles paled. Narrowing his eyes, Neji threw the offending piece of wood to the floor and spat a "fine" before storming off to god knows where. The redhead couldn't be more thankful.

With a loud sigh he set down another piece of lumber and gave a powerful slash with the axe, cutting it in half. The redhead's eyes widened when images flew quickly inside his head, images triggered by the slashing sound.

_Blood and shrilling screams, pleas and frightened eyes, a __great __sense of power, the metallic taste of blood__, cold laughter and mutilated bodies lying on the ground, their blood tainting the earth__ in intricate designs_

His eyes watered as a sharp headache attacked his head. He gasped; it was so intense that it blurred his vision, distorting everything around him until the only things he could see was nothing but shadows and spots. He faintly heard the clinking sound of the axe falling to the ground as his limps weakened and he fell down to his knees, clutching his head with both hands, his eyes wide and spilling tears. But everything happened too fast, the images fled away as soon and unpredicted as they had come to him. The redhead released shallow breaths, trying to compose himself, and when he made sure that no one had seen the spectacle he had made, he stood up and continued his task, trying to make the unpleasant images come back, even if they disturbed him. They were a key to his past and he had to see them. But they didn't come back again.

* * *

Three days had passed, three days in which the redhead had slaved doing chores, days in which he had tried and failed to please the Hyuuga, days in which he had tried to stark conversation and befriend Neji, but the cruel brunette had ignored him deliberately and he was being as insufferable as he could ever be, exploiting and bossing around the redhead to his liking. 

Gaara had kept as a secret the dreadful images he had experienced three days ago, for he somehow couldn't trust any of the family members that were currently sheltering him. He still couldn't understand why, but he had the feeling of doubt that he couldn't get rid of.

Gaara wiped the sweat out of his forehead, pushing aside long lashes of blood hair out of his upset eyes in the process, a gentle smile stretching his rosy lips. "At last, I have finished" he exclaimed to himself, letting his exhausted body fall into a messy pile of straw inside the damp hot barn. He had done so many things he had already lost count, but he was happy to do as much chores as he could, because now he felt useful.

"I leave you just for a second and all you do is rest?" the familiar cold voice asked to the redhead, who in return flushed with embarrassment before jumping to his feet and muttered another "I'm sorry" to the ever graceful brunette. "I see you've fed the animals and worked with the crops as I requested, although they're not in the condition I think they should be…" he said, his pretty face examining the whole barn for any flaw. The redhead narrowed his eyes and his blush disappeared as quickly it had appeared. The prick, he was so goddamn perfectionist. What was wrong this time? The position of a straw?! "And seeing that it's still noon and you have finished, I suppose you can help me with my own chore…unless you're tired" the brunette mocked, his mauve eyes taunting turquoise ones. The redhead nodded immediately; there was no way he would refuse, he would not show weakness, not to the Hyuuga. "follow me, then" without no further ado, the brunette turned around and left the barn, the redhead following close behind.

"Where are we going?" the redhead asked, curiously gazing ahead as they entered the forest. "We're going to recollect medicinal herbs" the brunette replied quietly as they walked in a narrow dirt path among imposing oaks, weeping willow trees, shrubs and ancient ruins, the trees growing thicker as they got deeper into the heart of the forest.

They turned left, and then right, then around one characteristic tree, the brunette muttering something under his breath from time to time, counting shrubs, trees, looking at some markings he had left on the trees and stones, and finally they reached a clearing, filled with different kinds of plants and colorful flowers.

"you can recollect whatever plants you want except the ones that has purple flowers" the redhead wanted to ask why but the brunette walked away as soon as he had said those words, squatting in front of plain looking herbs, pulling them from the roots and putting them inside a sack. Somehow the redhead couldn't tear his eyes away from his body and specially his rear, which he had a pretty good view from where he was standing. Those dark trousers were way too tight for him to ignore.

"What are you waiting for?" the brunette asked, a delicate dark eyebrow raised, his hair pooling around his shoulders; oh what a very beautiful sight. The redhead tore his eyes away unwillingly and started his task, stealing glances at the oblivious Neji when he wasn't looking.

Pulling out plants was a rather tedious and tiring task and more if the brunette refused to start conversation or try to continue one. He was soon becoming absentminded, his mind floating away to his foggy memories, trying in vain to regain more information about himself, but a hand resting on his own made him land on earth quite too suddenly.

"I told you not to pull those ones" the brunette said, a frown marring his beautiful face. "Are you feeling alright?" the redhead's face dropped to stare at his hand being gripped by a pale and delicate one and he felt an uncharacteristic feeling of warmth and his heart started to beat fast against his ribcage.

"I…no…yes" he stammered, pulling his hand away as if it had been burned and he returned to his task, trying hard to ignore those bright eyes that were trying to figure out what was on the redhead's head. Yanking some plants with oval shaped leaves, the redhead decided to face the other, his hand gripping the plant idly. "Neji, I mean, Hyuuga…" said young man turned around, a quizzical look thrown at him. "Tell me something about yourself". Neji tossed the plant he had yanked from the ground inside the bag and closed it before turning around to face the redhead fully. "Well…I was born in this land, both my father and mother are dead, I have no siblings, my only family are the ones you've been living with the past couple of days, I help my uncle with the farm, selling curative plants and healing people. I think Hinata and Hanabi are annoying, I personally don't like you and I think I might as well die of boredom in this place if you don't do things faster"

The redhead frowned, a pretty tint of pink adorning his cheeks as the brunette sneered at him, standing up and dusting off his knees with the grace and eloquence that only he possessed. "Why?" Gaara stood up and clutched Neji's arm, his aquamarine eyes trying to find opalescent ones. "Why don't you like me?" he asked, but it sounded more like a pleading. The brunette yanked away his arm and stared at him harshly. "I just happen to not like you".

The redhead could simply throw away his attempt to make friends; he could walk away and pretend that nothing had happened or he simply could ignore him, but he wasn't like that. He didn't give up that easily, and to tell that he was annoyed would be the least.

"I've tried so hard…" he growled, pinning the surprised brunette against the nearest tree trunk. "To be your friend these past couple of days" he breathed, his sharp eyes fixed on the uncannily passive face that was slightly defiant, but still too cold, too unblemished and perfect to be real. "I've tried to stark conversation; I've tried to make anything you want without hesitation…" Neji's bold eyes found his and they locked gazes in a silent fight, both of them trying to win, but both being too proud for their own good neither wanted to lose. The redhead's grip tightened around that elegant swan-like neck, pushing the other boy harder against the tree, making him gasp in pain. "But it doesn't matter how hard I try because you won't ever even try hide your disgust" the redhead leaned over, trying to make his point clear, but then he noticed their dangerous proximity, and his eyes travelled from his aggressive almond shaped eyes to an aristocratic nose and then to a prominent chin and jaw line, his warm breath tickling the other's ethereal flesh and sending shivers down his spine. It was then that a pretty shade of pink tinted Neji's cheeks. He wouldn't admit that his eyes had wandered, trailed and examined from his handsome face to the redhead's toned and sculptural body and then to his shocking red tresses. Direfully immoral thoughts had managed to crawl inside his head, filling it with illicit images of the mad redhead that would kill him and his pride if he could read his mind. Afraid that he would lose his composure, he tried to push the redhead away, but he was way too strong for him, and he hated it.

Gaara was shocked to see that even at nose-to-nose proximity the Hyuuga's skin and features were flawless and ethereal, and god was that skin soft to the touch, putting the Neji from his dreams to shame.

Craving to feel more, the redhead threw away all pretenses and closed his eyes, burying his face on the column of Neji's neck, breathing in his insanely sweet scent. His hand was on his way, so he dropped it and let it wander and caress from that elegant neck to a slightly protuberant collarbone and throughout the clothed torso. The Hyuuga tensed, clearly confused by the redhead's actions and a feeling of trepidation invaded him, making him swallow the lump in his suddenly dried throat. "Gods, Hyuuga…one of these days you're going to be the death of me" the redhead whispered, nuzzling the warm flesh his head was resting on. "What a-are you try-trying to do?!" the brunette stuttered breathily, struggling to get free from the redhead's embrace, who ignored him pointedly as his shameless lips kissed hungrily from his neck to his jaw and collarbone. The Hyuuga's eyes widened and he gasped, his protest growing stronger. "Stop!" he cried, trying to push away the frightening redhead from him. With only a growl as a reply, Gaara pushed him harder against the three, rubbing his hips against the other's feminine ones, eliciting an unwanted moan from the brunette as a gorgeous blush made its way on Neji's cheeks. Taking his mouth away from that sinful flesh, the redhead stared directly into that cherry mouth. Oh how much he wanted to claim him. Driven by feral desire, Gaara attempted to kiss him, but Neji turned his face to the side at the last moment, making the redhead kiss his cheek instead, unpleased, he brought down the other's face and captured his lips into a searing kiss.

The brunette stayed still with his bright eyes wide and cheeks flushed as the smaller teen molested his mouth, his demanding tongue asking…no, ordering his tightly shut lips for entrance. The brunette declined, his hands persistently pushing the redhead, but to no avail. How the hell a smaller and seemingly younger boy could be stronger than him?

Gaara then entwined his hands on his hair, massaging his scalp before giving a violent tug, making the Hyuuga gasp in pain and open his mouth enough for his determined tongue to enter, but what Gaara didn't expect was for the brunette to bite his tongue hard as soon as it made its presence known.

Gaara growled and pulled away, spiting blood. The Hyuuga panted, breathing in the needed oxygen to his lungs and grimaced when he tasted blood on his mouth.

The redhead pulled away slightly to stare fully at the other breathless teen, but he wouldn't release him.

"What do you want from me?" Neji managed to ask meekly between raged breaths, bringing unwanted attention again to his sinfully delicious mouth that was now abused and raw, all thanks to Gaara.

The redhead traced the tense and well defined jaw line with his craving fingers, his lustful eyes devouring the other's mouth and making the other boy widen his eyes with dread when he felt something hard pressed against his thigh.

_Was he hard?!_

The redhead apologized when he saw the look of disgust and shock and he finally pulled away, his face bowed deeply. "I'm sorry" he whispered; the ghost of his hovering fingers on the other's taut flesh sending shivers down Neji's spine; leaving him panting and flushed against the tree bark.

Not daring to look back at the brunette, the redhead walked away as fast as he could, flinching when the material of his dark trousers constricted his painful arousal. It was too much for him to handle…all those mixed feelings and that strange attraction towards the other boy had sent him over the edge with desire, and all that he wanted for now was release.

* * *

AU: sorry for late update. i have no excuse but my laziness. I know you want to click the button and review :) 


	5. realization and turn of events

Disclaimer: I do not own anything, only my imagination.

* * *

Gaara panted hard, his eyes shut tight as his trembling hand made its way under his trousers to take hold of the painful arousal underneath, his dry mouth letting out a hiss at the contact of his cold hand against his heated flesh.

He bit his lower lip hard. Gods, he still had the taste of Neji in his mouth and it didn't help one bit in this kind of predicament.

He knew it was wrong, to be thinking of another man while getting rid of his _'problem'_; he knew that he should be thinking of a woman's breasts and pretty face, but he was thinking instead of Neji's well toned chest and rear, besides, Neji could make one gorgeous girl if you only pictured him in those long and ridiculously constricting attires women liked to wear those days. It felt wrong and dirty, but at the same time pleasurable and he couldn't help but moan Neji's name under his breath while he touched himself.

He should be mortified and disgusted with himself. It wasn't right and it would never be, whatever he was feeling should be evaded for the rest of eternity (or at least for the rest of his life). But then, why the hell did it felt so damn _good_?!

Morals, pride and better judgment go to _hell_.

The strokes became more and more desperate as release became imminent; his mind now hazy and an incoherent mess of muddled thoughts thrown together, the majority being fantasies involving one black haired and white eyed Hyuuga, His rosy and luscious lips on him, kissing every inch of his body, pleasuring him whilst wearing that arrogant smirk in his face.

His breath became ragged and erratic and his imagination grew to be more vivid and wild; his eyes remained tightly shut and his mouth slightly parted in a silent scream. He started to pump himself faster and harder until his breath hitched, his eyes shot open and his back arched; the pleasure was too powerful, too intense, almost to the point of unbearable and all he could see was white dots as a sticky substance erupted from his manhood without delay, his tense muscles slacked down as the heated wave of pleasure hit him full force, and he let out the breath he had been holding unconsciously when the pleasure disappeared. Pulling away his hand from his now limp member and cleaning himself as well as he could, the redhead stood up and walked his way towards ´_home_´, still in a daze from his previous activity.

* * *

Neji was never the type of lad who got impressed easily; he was never one to be left speechless. He prided in the fact that he was always collected, coolheaded and had a way with words, But now, as he gazed at his own rather disheveled appearance, abused red lips and widened eyes in the full mirror in his room, he couldn't even bring himself into thinking about what had happened just a few minutes ago. What would he do now? Try to talk to the redhead or just simply avoid him? He had pondered again and again about it, but he couldn't bring himself to a conclusion. He knew it was just a matter of days until his uncle closed the deal with those spiteful Normans and they'll take away that…obnoxious redhead. He bit his lower lip mercilessly, thinking very hard about the last bit of information provided to him not too long ago by a very anxious and exited uncle. It seemed as if it was yesterday that the other teen had arrived (more of invaded) his dwelling and befriended both his cousins in a blink of an eye. That so proclaimed cruel assassin hadn't shown even a speck of violence in the course of the weeks, he had been nice and calm all along and he even laughed at Hanabi's stupid jokes…he was just…he wasn't acting like the bloodlust beast everyone feared.

He guessed that maybe he, just like everybody else had been misinformed, that the oblivious redhead was just another pawn the king used for his advantage due to his masterful skills with the sword…But what about his lost family, the one that had been cruelly assassinated by the redhead then? Gaara couldn't be as innocent as he portrayed himself to be…maybe it all was a pretending, maybe he was just trying to befriend them and then he would kill them all. Neji sighed and closed his eyes, trying to ease some of the tension he had been growing in his back. His muscles ached, and there was a small discomfort in his own persona; he felt tainted, filthy, for he could still feel the warrior's ghostly lips ravishing his own, his persistent tongue making its way into his mouth boldly, he could still feel his hands around his neck, where they had left bruising marks, and his scent lingered in Neji's neck and shoulders, wafting tauntingly to his nose, provoking him, whispering in small cruel voices what a whore he was, that letting the man touch him in such an immoral way could not be accepted or by any means permitted. Neji shook away all the thoughts, for they were evidently throwing him on edge. So many emotions in his mind were overwhelming to the point of not be able to discern what he felt anymore, and gods how he hated it, it was slowly but surely driving him insane.

Splashing some water into his heated face, he tried to compose himself before leaving his bedroom. It was way too hot and tiny to be in there; he needed space to think, to _breath..._As he stormed outside, ignoring successfully both his confused cousins, he came face to face with the last human being he wanted to confront, the one that had awakened so many emotions within him in such a short amount of time and always managed to make him drop both his unfeeling mask and his composure so easily.

Those haunting turquoise eyes widened with bewilderment before they searched franticly for an exit, anything that could provide him a loophole from what was sure to be a rather awkward encounter, and alas, there was none. He was doomed.

The redhead cleared his suddenly dry throat and combed an annoying crimson strand out of his eyes, looking anywhere but the other male in front.

Hinata noticed the sudden tension between both with perked curiosity; sure there had always been a strain between the two, but it had never been this strong. She pretended to be sewing an old coat from her father while she threw sneaky glances at them with her pale eyes, trying to decipher what was wrong between the two, if she hadn't known better, she would have believed the scene unraveling before her eyes was one of disagreeing lovers. She frowned, trying to discern what was going on, but failing miserably. Gaara straightened his posture almost immediately, still refusing to stare at the other, too ashamed of his impulsive actions in the forest to even look at the brunette in the face. Neji frowned and arched a delicate dark eyebrow at him.

"Neji" The redhead saluted, bowing his head at him.

The Hyuuga merely threw his head to the side and stepped outside the cabin. The redhead sighed as soon as the door was shut behind him and let his rigid shoulders to slouch. Hinata didn't know what to make out of the scene displayed before her just seconds before, but she still pretended to be sewing now a pair of overstretched socks. The redhead merely threw her a glance of recognition before locking himself up in _his_ bedroom for the rest of the day, and hopefully, the rest of his life.

* * *

Gaara decided it was time to get out from his hiding place, his actions seemed to be too absurd and it was starting to annoy him. He wanted to confront Neji, and by that he meant to do it right away. But then again, he didn't know what to say to the other male, he just couldn't plant himself in front of him, demand attention from the "_oblivious_" brunette and say "hey I'm sorry if I tried to rape you, I didn't wanted it to be that way" he sighed while rubbing his tired eyes, he didn't know how to confront him and he was sure that Neji didn't know how to either because both of them had deviously avoided the other.

His stomach decided to grumble for the tenth time that morning. He rolled his eyes and stood up. He needed to eat; he had starved himself for two days consecutive and he couldn't stand his demanding stomach anymore, so pride, be gone.

Taking a shaky breath, the redhead darted outside, only to face a surprised Hinata, who greeted him with her gentlest smile, welcoming him to sit with her.

"...And I thought you were going to die of starvation, I think I'm quite pleased to know that you aren't dead"

The redhead smiled, sitting besides the small woman.

"Here, have some bread and oatmeal."

Gaara thanked her and tried to eat as properly and as quickly as he could and not disturb her, he didn't wanted to see Neji...He wasn't ready to confront him.

As if reading his mind, the young woman said, "Don't worry, my cousin left to do some errands, he won't come back until late" The redhead almost choked on the oatmeal, blushing tremendously. His actions were observed by the girl with mild curiosity.

"Pray tell, what happened between you two?"

The warrior shook his head and drank water greedily, trying to gain some time for him to elaborate a story. He disliked lying, and even more to Hinata, she had been nothing but nice to him…but he couldn't tell her the truth, the last thing he wanted was a fainted Hinata lying on the floor. "Well…we kind of…disagreed in a matter…and I guess it went awkward for both of –"

the girl frowned, her pretty eyes glistening with the morning light like a pair of diamonds before interrupting him.

"you're lying" she said with disbelief.

Gaara sighed and looked away, attempting to hide his shame. The girl continued talking, not noticing his clear discomfort on the subject.

"I knew that my cousin is quite a disagreeable man, but I didn't know he would be uncivil to you-" It was now time for the redhead to shook his head, sending crimson locks over his face.

"No…he wasn't uncivil to me…in fact, I was the one uncivil…I just don't know how to apologize to him" he trailed off, fixing his gaze on the rough wooden surface of the table.

The young woman let out an audible "oh", fixing her own eyes to the suddenly interesting patterns in the surface of the table.

"Can I get informed?" the boy snapped his gaze forward, completely at loss of what to say now. He couldn't lie, not anymore.

"I can tell you the truth, but I'm afraid of your reaction" he said truthfully and the dark haired girl looked directly into his eyes to prove her point.

"I promise I won't tell".

Suddenly feeling his throat dry, the redhead drank some mead before popping the news to her.

"I was disrespectful to your cousin" he stated finally, now fixing his gaze on the wall behind the puzzled girl, who was trying to understand his statement.

"Did you…by any chance hit him?" she asked dreadfully and the redhead shook his head negative, the blush staining his cheeks darkening considerably. The girl frowned, if he didn't hit her cousin, then what could he have done to _disrespect_ him? Coming finally to a _very_ disturbing realization, her eyes widened dramatically, while a blush of her own made its presence known.

"You didn't…-" "Yes" he responded strongly, now looking away from her, too ashamed to see her straight into her eyes, which seemed to be way too painfully alike Neji's, with the only exceptions that Neji's eyes were lighter and sharper.

She stuttered, her eyes widening even more because of his response. She resembled a fish out of water, her mouth wide open trying to articulate a sound, a sound that refused to go out of her mouth. The redhead finally dared to look at her with disturbed eyes. He was scared, ashamed and nervous, she could tell right away.

"I'm scared of this…you don't understand how I'm feeling now. I have no idea of my identity, I don't want to be a burden to your family, I want to help but I can't…I can't remember anything and its frustrating!" She released a long sigh, rubbing her temples; she didn't know what to do say or do anymore. She surely felt sympathy for the redhead, but he had left her speechless and confused beyond comprehension…if she decided to help him she knew that her family would accuse her of treason and they would disinherit her and send her away, and she couldn't afford to leave her sister with them.

"Look, I'm going to tell you the truth, and by doing so I'm probably would be better off dead for my family, but I can't stand lying to you anymore. It's killing me" the male snapped open his eyes wide for the second time, but now it was with surprise.

"The truth?!...what do you mean?" his eyes widened like saucers as the weight of realization hit him hard.

"You know something about me?!" he cried, grabbing her by her collar rudely, a glint of insanity in his insomnia circled eyes.

"You know something about me!" The girl winced, fear evident in her eyes. The redhead immediately let go of her apron, apologizing for his action. "I deserve it" she whispered, leaning back in her chair.

"Look, we need to discuss this somewhere more private" she said, darting her eyes to the door. The redhead frowned, but nodded nonetheless. The girl leaned towards him, "Listen to me carefully. I'll see you by the entrance of the woods at dusk, make sure nobody sees you leave" she whispered and as soon as she ended the sentence she stood up and walked away silently, leaving a very puzzled redhead behind to ponder on her words.

* * *

Neji wiped some sweat out of his forehead, his eyes watching carefully at the old woman lying down on the table, a worried looking husband by her side, gripping her hand in reassurance.

"Is she alright?" he asked hopeful, Neji unbound his hair and redid the braid again, only this time into a high ponytail so it wouldn't get in the way. The stubborn old lady frowned at both of them before replying indignantly,"I said I was fine, you useless men!"

Neji opted to just roll his eyes and continue his inspection of the angry slashes on her age marked skin. "Just keep holding her hands, we don't want her to hurt herself even more" he said to the man as he removed the quite wide shards of glass off her leg with utmost care, so she wouldn't suffer much.

"I'm fine!" she cried, trying to get away from her husband's grip. Neji ignored her and threw the bloodied pieces into a tray and faced the elderly couple. "What happened?" the old man stared at his wife with a desperate and angry glare, as if reprehending her for her cantankerous behavior before replying. "She was holding a vase while climbing down the stairs and then…she misplaced her footing and fell…" Neji nodded and say no more before he traced her injured leg with his fingers with his eyes closed, searching for a broken bone. He wouldn't be surprised if he found one. Falling at the age of the woman can be very dangerous, it could even kill her. When he found nothing wrong besides the wounds, he smiled at them. "You are very lucky" he said to the woman, offering her a small smile. She opted to just glare at him with her eyes. Neji applied an ointment on her wounds and when he finished he asked the spirited woman if she didn't hurt anywhere else. With a rotund no for an answer, the old woman sprang to a sitting position and shooed their hands away from her. She certainly hated to be lying down on some table in front of two men…how unlady-like of her!

"She shall be alright if you do as I tell you..." Neji said before turning around, searching for something in the old cupboard across the room. He took out one tiny crystal bottle filled with a green powder. Pulling it in front of the man's eyes, he said in a slow and clear voice

"You will mix this in whatever herbal tea you wish, you will make sure she drinks it and then…-" he took out another bottle, this one filled with a green ointment. "–you will apply this ointment on her wounds, just like I did right now. The injury will heal in no time, I promise. She just needs to rest for a while, make sure she doesn't do any strenuous activities, and by that I mean house chores…even walking can injure her further".

Nodding carefully, the man took the offered medicines. The woman defiantly stood up and pointed at the young man accusingly. "What's that you want my husband to mix with my tea? I will not be surprised if you both try to poison me so you could get rid of me!" she cried like a lunatic.

Neji sighed and rubbed his temples, trying to get rid of the building headache this woman was causing him before replying. "The powder your husband will mix into your tea are crushed Burdock roots, which will be the one in charge to strengthen your immune system, while the ointment contains both Aloe Vera and Burdock roots. The Aloe Vera will heal your wounds and the burdock roots acts as a disinfectant and anti-inflammatory." Neji finished with his cold, yet kind voice.

The woman nodded, pleased by his ever polite responses before smiling a toothless smile at him. "You're quite the gentleman, I am sure you have lots of lasses hanging from your arms" Neji smiled politely and gave the herbal medicines to the concerned husband that as soon as he had tucked the medicine into his bag grabbed his wife's hands tightly, assuring her that he was there. "We don't have much with us-" the man said, sadness clearly evident in his partially blind eyes. Neji decided to interrupt, he knew where the man was heading and he didn't want to hear it. "Don't worry about it, just go home" Neji waved his hand in a casual manner while putting away the tray. The man smiled as wide as the muscles in his cheeks would let him and shook the younger male's hand fervently with his free hand. "Thank you" the old man said before they walked outside with careful steps.

The brunette smiled softly. If there was something he liked was to help people. "You need to stop being so soft and give medicine freely, Hyuga" a dark haired male said, his obsidian eyes fixed on the almost empty cupboard. "If my father gets informed about this…_benevolent_ behavior of yours he would likely throw you out of here"

the addressed teen turned around to face the other with his infamous glare, a fine dark eyebrow raised. "Are you threatening me, Uchiha?" he asked with an eerily calm voice. The dark haired boy smirked, leaning back on the wall, unfazed by the dark glare thrown at him.

"Why, Hyuuga, I'm quite shocked. What makes you believe I am threatening you?" he sneered. "Because you can, and you're actually threatening me." Those cold obsidian eyes glistened with mirth.

"Don't worry…your secret its safe with me…you only need to find a way to explain your lack of money and medicine to my father" Neji smirked, his eyebrow still arched as he remembered something that would surely make the other shut up. "Oh don't you worry about that…your secret is safe as well… I swear I won't tell much to your brother and father about your ah, _interesting_ relationship with that Uzumaki kid"

The smirk fell off almost immediately from the other's face to be replace by a deep scowl. He had clearly hit a nerve. "Don't you dare, Hyuga" he growled, glaring at him with such intensity that might as well make his head fall off. Neji smirked, liking how things had turned to his advantage. "It's pretty simple, really…-" the brunette closed the cupboard and opened the door, ready to leave as quickly as he could when he finished talking, for he knew that the boy had quite a temper and the least thing he wanted was a fight.

"-_y__ou_ don't tell a word and I won't" then he turned around and closed the door silently behind him, leaving a very infuriated Sasuke behind who almost immediately started to vent his frustration by banging his fist on the poor wall.

* * *

Gaara didn't know what to make out of Hinata's sudden mysterious behavior, but he was relieved and excited at the same time, he was finally going to know his name, and hopefully, his whole identity would be revealed. His eyes were fixed on the glaring sun that was now perishing in the horizon, giving away its last breath of sunshine before being swallowed by the earth.

there was actually something going on, if it didn't Hinata wouldn't be so secretive…it seemed as if the whole family knew who he was but didn't want to inform him. Whatever it was, he needed to be careful.

He opened the rusty window from his bedroom as quickly as he could and narrowed his eyes in the dark, making sure there wasn't anyone outside before he stumbled outside ungracefully, hitting and bruising his hand in the process. The excited redhead cursed under his breath and scrambled to his feet and ran in the direction to the forest as swiftly and as quietly as he could, unaware of the pair of lucid grey eyes fixed on his retreating back.

When he met the young woman the first thing he noticed was that she was fidgety and nervous, throwing glances every three seconds to the shadows surrounding her, when she finally noticed him she dragged him more into the darkness, making almost impossible for him to read her expression.

"Look, I'll make this quick for both of us. Listen well; I'm helping you only if you promise me that you won't harm my father or cousin…" the puzzled redhead agreed fervently, squinting in the dark copiously. "Your name is Gaara, you're a warrior in favor of the king of Ulster and you crawled all the way to our house bleeding and with horrible injuries…you were then treated by my cousin and when my father laid his eyes on you he kind of remembered you and he quickly informed the enemies about you in hopes that they would reward him with money…"

she stopped her frantic assault of information to breath, watching carefully the redhead for any reaction, but she couldn't see much due to the darkness so she opted to continue. "You need to run, you need to flee before they…Oh!" just when she was about to finish, a very infuriated looking Hiashi appeared from the darkness and slapped his daughter across her face and the power of the strike forced her to fall to the dirt. "You, insolent child!" he spat before kicking her huddled form in the ribs; the poor girl yelped in pain and confusion, tears glistening in her eyes.

"Neji! Immobilize the filth" Hiashi commanded, and another ghost-like person emerged from the shadows, younger and slightly smaller than the other man, his cold eyes fixed on the redhead, who appeared to be having some sort of a seizure at the moment. The redhead's eyes were opened wide but they looked vacant, his hands were clutching his head and pulling crimson hair in desperation and pain as he kneeled on the ground, panting and yelling in hollow agony. Neji licked his patched lips as he approached the other male with cautious steps, trying hard to be unnoticed by the other male, and just when he was about to knock him out cold with a simple blow on the back of his neck, the redhead twisted his head up and stared at him with a chilling pair of aquamarine orbs, which looked frighteningly foreign as he coldly surveyed his approaching hand. In a blink of an eye, a large malicious grin spread on his face, making him look as if he was possessed. "Oh, I wouldn't recommend that, Neji" he sneered before grabbing the hand and twisting it, making a sickening snapping sound. Neji's eyes widened immensely in utmost pain and tears invaded his eyes. He didn't yelled in pain, no; he wouldn't give the bastard the satisfaction, so he bit his lower lip hard, not caring at all when the coppery taste of his own blood made its presence known in his mouth.

The redhead frowned by the lack of response from the other boy. He was sure he had broken his wrist, so why hadn't he cried out? He stared at the other rebellious eyes and laughed hollowly. "Cry Neji, I want you to cry for _me_" with another sickening twist of his own wrist another snap was heard and Neji shut tightly his eyes, biting even harder on his bleeding lip.

Hinata had stood up and was now yelling him to stop, begging him to be merciful as Hiashi just stood rooted to the floor with a shocked expression in his face, totally unresponsive to his surroundings. The redhead's fierce eyes glowered at her with an undecipherable expression on his face, as if fighting with himself before he sighed audibly, an evident frown on his face.

"I wouldn't normally oblige to anything but I guess I need to thank you, don't I?" Gaara released the brunette and turned his back to him in a clear attempt to leave, but he didn't expect the other male to launch at him with injured hand and all.

With a loud curse, blood and a growl Gaara fell face first into the dirty earth below, motionless while Neji stepped out of the darkness to be bathed with the silvery light of moonlight that gave him the ethereal glow of a ghost.

With a left hand twisted in an odd angle and hanging limply by his side and a bloodied rock clutched by the other, Neji glowered at the heap of shocking red hair and tangled limbs as Hiashi woke up from his trance and yanked his daughter from the ground.

"Is he alive?" the older man asked, uncertain.

"He's unconscious, but we need to treat the wound before he loses too much blood." He replied while observing the angry injury on Gaara's head, his unruly red hair matted to his skull with fresh blood.

Hiashi nodded "you take care of the filth and make sure he's well restrained. He will leave tomorrow by midnight". After he spoke his statement he tugged at his daughter by her arm and dragged her unwilling form back to the house.

Neji was left alone with the unconscious redhead; and as he stood rooted to the ground and stared at the unmoving warrior he hesitated for the first time in his life. He shook his head, trying to get rid of the clenching feeling in his gut and lifted the redhead and threw him over his shoulders. Neji frowned as he made his way home. The redhead was incredibly light to be warrior.

* * *

AU: ok..I know Hinata IS out of character, but I need her to be strong for the sake of the story. Also, you may be wandering why is Gaara being so nice. Well, he's like that because he lost all his memories that were the key to all his hatred and cruelty; so what is left of Gaara is his true vulnerable self.

that's all.

i wouldn't mind if you review and tell me what you think about the story :)


	6. i love you, not

story by: IamGhost

Disclaimer: I do not own anything...

* * *

_Large jade eyes were widened with dread as a little boy crept inside a small kitchen with silent and careful steps, looking like a frightened doe ready to escape from a predator; but when the little toddler was sure that nobody was in the room he smiled a smile that would put to shame the Cheshire cat. _

"_See, Shukaku? I told you nobody would be in here!" The boy whispered to his teddy bear excitedly before he hurried towards the lowest wooden cupboards, opening them all in a frantic search for something edible to eat and he was pleased enough to know there were more than just bread crumbles this time, unlike the day before; but just when he was about to leave with a generous pile of food on his little arms he got a glimpse of something that made his mouth water, a cake. The only problem was that it was on top of the counter, a place he couldn't reach even with both his hands and legs stretched, but that didn't refrained the boy from trying. He was a child, after all and stubbornness is common in his early age. _

_He stretched his limbs as far as he could, his little fingers prodding at the large plate above with his tiny fingers but something went wrong and the plate fell down, emitting a loud crash. The boy whimpered when he noticed small pieces of ceramic embedded in his flesh, but he had no time to cry out or run, for a tall man with dark ominous eyes stared down at him with searing anger and disgust from the threshold. _

"_I told you to never leave your room!" he yelled, grabbing and carrying the child as if it was some disgusting disease. _

"_But I'm hungry!" the little boy protested in his arms, kicking, screaming and squirming as angry tears rolled down his soft and rounded cheeks as the mean man dumped him into a cage-like crib._

"_I don't care if you're hungry or not, brat, I don't want you out of here" the man growled, sending the most frightening glare he could muster. _

_The child cried silently, embracing the tattered teddy bear against his chest as the man left with a loud bang at the door. _

Gaara tried to open his eyes but they felt as heavy as lead, he then tried to move his hands but they were sore and felt much more heavier than his eyes, so he gave up, wincing when a very unfathomable headache attacked him mercilessly. Knowing that he still didn't have the enough strength to properly wake up he drifted again into sleep's wings and hopefully something more about his murky past would be revealed.

* * *

_A redhead stared wearily at the people socializing just outside the window he was leaning in, his aquamarine eyes too cold and unyielding for a ten year old and his body too frail and small to be considered healthy. All those smiles, all the chatter and light atmosphere were starting to annoy him._

* * *

"_Look at them Shukaku, so happy and oblivious…they make me sick" the redhead whispered to his imaginary friend, his bony fingertips caressing the cool surface of the crystal pane. _

_Suddenly, out of nowhere, a commotion broke through on the peaceful city of Suna, soldiers from the frontier paraded in elegantly with their graceful horses on the town's square and the people dispersed from the streets as quickly as they could to make a path for them, everyone bowing deep in recognition and respect. _

_There was a spark of interest in those bored aquamarine orbs and the boy shifted from his position to take a better view of the imposing soldiers._

"_Do you see them Shukaku?!" the boy exclaimed in awe to the empty space beside him that gave no reply. _

_An older boy with spiky chestnut hair eyed him curiously from the threshold of the living room, munching on an apple uninterestedly. "Oi! Who are you talking with, Gaara?" the boy gave no reply, just a quick glance at him as if to acknowledge his presence. _

"_He's talking to himself" a blond haired girl replied for the redhead while reading a rather old book. _

"_The soldiers from Ulster are here" the younger boy said almost in a whisper, too interested in the display outside to tear away his eyes from the window. _

"_Really?" the older boy asked before he ran to the window and threw Gaara away from it so he could get a look. _

"_Temari, it's true! The soldiers are here!" he cried excitedly while the blonde only arched an eyebrow at him, showing that she wasn't as interested as they were. "So? What about it?" she asked, closing the book she was previously reading and setting it on the nearest end table before standing up and walking towards her brothers. "What's so interesting about them?" both males stopped their earlier struggling to win the window to stare at her with unbelieving eyes. _

"_The saddest part of it is that she means it" the brunet said, shaking his head in disapproval. _

_The redhead fled from the living room, ignoring the questioning glances from his older siblings and he dashed for the entrance of the house and broke free from his imprisonment. _

_The small boy ran and ran, pushing people out of his way until he was in the front line of the mob. _

_There they were, the greatest of all the greatest, the only ones Gaara had ever truly admired. _

_Line after line of pure bred stallions with glossy manes and healthy build marched solemnly past him and line after line of strong and nameless faces marched somberly without noticing him. _

"_I want to be one of them when I grow older, Shukaku" the boy whispered, a warm smile spreading on his usually blank face. _

_Not too far away, a foreign teen stared at him oddly before his frowning eyes set on the parading soldiers with disgust and then back at the redhead with incredulity. _

"_Do you really want to be just like those conceited idiots?" the stranger raised his prominent eyebrows and Gaara's smile disappeared almost instantly, a deep scowl marrying his face. _

"_What did you say?" he whispered, eyes glowing hazardously and the stranger smirked by the sudden change of events. "You heard me" the other answered, a horrible smile taking place in his face. "Hey…you're that Gaara kid, right? The son of the Kazekage…" the stranger's sick smile widened even more. "I heard you killed your mother…" as soon as the other boy finished the sentence Gaara was already attacking him like a vicious animal. _

"_What is this?" a deep voice growled, forcing both of them to pull apart. Gaara dropped his bloodied fist, his wide eyes staring with awe at the figure hovering above. There, with rich clothes and armor stood the General of the squad. _

"_Gaara, what on earth are you doing?!" a high pitched yell signaled the redhead that an infuriated Temari was also there. The general arched a thin eyebrow as soon as he saw the blonde, recognition deeply embedded on his feminine face. "Temari?" the general asked with unbelief, and soon enough the blonde stop yelling at her youngest brother and her soft blue eyes widened. "Uncle Yashamaru?" _

The older man smiled at them, taking off his helmet to show flaxen hair that reached past his chin, making him look even more feminine.

"Why are you fighting, Gaara?" the blonde asked, offering him a hand and ignoring the other helpless teen lying on the ground.

"_I…I was just-" The redhead fidgeted as he noticed that all of the eyes of the townspeople were directed at him, trying to discern the motives of such a dreadful act. "He was insulting our family..." the redhead responded, sending a spiteful glare at the fallen combatant. "I see…" his uncle responded in a pondering manner, his grey eyes assessing the damage inflicted on the stranger. "Well done, son" the blond man finally said, ruffling his ruby hair. Gaara's eyes widened even more, his mouth open in surprise while the other fallen male just glared indignantly at everyone before he scurried away from the multitude, spitting curses at them as he disappeared. _

_The tall man offered him a hand as a gentle smile curled his pretty lips._

"_Get up…it's rude to be sitting, pay respect to your soldiers" was all he said as the wide eyed boy took the offered hand. _

_Yashamaru saluted them politely and left after saying a swift goodbye; and as soon as the blond took his place on the queue of intimidating soldiers Gaara let a true smile blossom in his face, a soft pink shade grazing his gaunt cheeks. _

"_See Shukaku? I can't wait to be one of them_"

* * *

_There was a brief moment of darkness as Gaara processed the last memory and then a very familiar scenery appeared in front of him. It was some training grounds inside a fortress in the outskirts of the city. Yashamaru stood in front of a very skinny and sickly smaller Gaara, while Yashamaru was holding a metal sword, Gaara was clutching a wooden one, his very pale skin marred with fresh wounds from the current encounter. _

"_That was very good Gaara, now you only need to remember to never lower your guard" Yashamaru said, a bright smile stretching his lips. The small redheaded boy collapsed on his knees, panting hard, his cheeks were flushed and he was sweating profusely. "I…can't…breathe" he said in between deep gulps of air. The man in front of him only arched a thin eyebrow, looking very dignified and unaffected even though they had rigorous sparring matches and exercises for six hours a day. _

"_Say Gaara, do you want to be a soldier?" the blonde asked as he knelt in front of the trembling little boy. That question perked Gaara's attention. "Of course I want to!" he cried as he wiped away sweat from the new wounds marring his deadly white skin. "Then you need to stop complaining and work harder" Gaara nodded and almost jumped to his weakened feet, wincing when some of the wounds on his arms and legs prickled by the harsh movements of his limbs. Yashamaru only smiled, but this smile was different from any other, this smile was malicious. "Now it's time for your endurance test" and with those words said the blond man took a beating stick. Gaara's eyes widened with dread. "On your knees" Yashamaru commanded grimly. The boy trembled with fear but did as he was told and fell on his knees, head bowed and back exposed. His widened eyes shut in agony as the merciless beating commenced and he knew for experience that once it began it was hard to make his uncle stop. _

_In all his naivety he never knew that this "test" was only for the sick pleasure of his uncle, a man with no heart but plenty of hatred to give; especially plenty enough to give to him. _

_Gaara tried to sleep, he really tried, but the floor was too hard and cold and the silence deafening; dread filled his wide eyes as he stared at the darkness surrounding him while he covered his shivering body with the thin cotton blanket that was given to him, but it was proved to be futile because the coldness didn't subdue. _

* * *

_The boy squinted in the shadows, feeling as if he had seen a ghost. The darkness was the worst, for he could never really get accustomed to it, the dreadful uncertainty and the voice in his head were intensified in the darkness, the ghost of his past still fresh in his young mind, replaying all the painful memories he suppressed in the daylight, letting him without rest. But now it was okay, because he had become an insomniac many years ago and now he needn't as much sleep as he did when he was younger. _

_As he tried to accommodate himself on the uncomfortable floor he heard something, like muffled voices that were oh so familiar to him. The blood haired boy stood up by reflex, his plans of a light sleep long ago forgotten as his naked feet dragged him out of his room to the empty corridor outside. The muffled __voices became clearer and louder as he approached one of the cellars next to his room and he was certain it wasn't part of his overly active imagination. _

_The small child came to a halt and opened the heavy door just enough to steal a glimpse of what was happening inside; but once he had captured the scene displayed just for his innocent eyes he regretted getting out of his cold and hard "bed"._

_There, inside the cellar was his uncle pressed against the wall, his eyes closed and his mouth parted as another man he couldn't recognize was embracing him…but this embrace was different from all the ones he had ever seen between friends, this one, oddly enough, seemed to be the kind of hug only lovers shared. _

_The small boy frowned, clearly confused of what was happening, but realization dawned upon him when he noticed that the other nameless man was grinding his hips against the pliant Yashamaru, whose grunts and moans were muffled by the hands of the stranger._

"_Stop it, Gaara's sleeping next door…he could hear us" the smaller man cried, trying to break free, but the older one refused to let go. _

"_I don't care if that brat is sleeping next door; hell…I don't care if he drops dead any minute now…" _

_That voice…Gaara's eyes widened with realization…That voice could only belong to one man…_

_His father._

"_Oh, don't be that way, you shouldn't treat him that way…he deserves proper treatment-" The older man pushed harder against Yashamaru, a growl reverberating low in his throat._

"_Don't you remember that he's the cause of your beloved sister's death?" the man glowered, poison dripping from his words. Yashamaru's shoulders tensed vividly, remorse flicking through his eyes. _

"_we shouldn't be doing this…it's wrong…besides, I don't want to disgrace her memories with…this" he cried, pushing away with all his might, only to be pushed further against the wall by the strong man, whose voice was quite and deadly. _

"_You weren't talking that way yesterday, 'maru…so shut up now and obey" _

_His father, the youngling realized, had thrown his uncle against an improvised bed on the corner and proceeded to strip both of them while unabashedly jerking his hips against the other. _

"_No…please…I beg you…" the blond cried, his watery eyes staring at the door…Somehow, Gaara thought he had been seen. _

"_Shut up…" the other man growled before he kissed him on the mouth, his hands fisting his fair locks of hair. _

_Gaara shook his head, trying to get rid of the images, but he couldn't move, the fear was too overwhelming for him; so he remained there, petrified as he watched how his uncle and father did all the things he thought his father only did with his mother. _

_A deadly embrace in the darkness, the confused and terrified eyes of a young man, a cold throaty laughter followed by violent coughs and the loud clatter of a sword falling to the ground, its bright blade tainted with dark red blood. Questions were asked and were left unanswered, tears streamed down the young man's cheeks and his hurt eyes tried to figure out the older man's motives for such a hideous act. _

* * *

_"Why?" he feebly asked, his voice raspy and strangled. "Because I wanted to…" His uncle responded blatantly, a cynical smile spreading on his lips, mocking and daring. "I can't stand to see you…knowing that you were the cause of my sister's demise…you repulse me" the man said slowly but surely, his cold grey eyes glaring at him with rage the redhead had never seen in his usually pleasant face. "All this time…you were pretending?" the broken boy asked, his hands clutching at the red fabric of Yashamaru's elegant shirt. Another horrible laughter erupted as the man tried to pry away the boy's hands from him. "I hated you since the day you were conceived" the older man continued, ignoring the pained expression on the redheaded boy. "I knew it was a mistake from the beginning…you're father…he wasn't supposed to be with her" Yashamaru whispered, his eyes thick with emotion. Anger filled him as the redhead remembered what he had seen when he was still a boy. _

_"…He was supposed to be with whom?" he asked, his eyes glowing with dangerous animosity. "…you?!" he spat, clutching harder at the neck of Yashamaru's shirt, his teeth greeted tightly and his jaw tense as he lowered his hateful glare at his uncle. The man only laughed listlessly, his eyes still filled with malicious intention. _

"_Did you enjoyed the show?" he asked, his once innocent and kind face distorted to the eyes of Gaara, who now had realized that it wasn't a coincidence he had stumbled upon that scene. _

"…_So you did it on purpose…?" he asked, his fists shaking underneath the fabric of Yashamaru's shirt. _

_The blond slapped the trembling hands away with his last remnants of strength. "…he cheated on me by impregnating your mother…" Yashamaru sighed, cleaning a trail of blood on his lips with the back of his sleeve, his pretty eyes mad. Gaara shook his head vigorously, trying to deny it all for the sake of his sanity._

"_You're sick" he cried, clutching at his own self as he tried not to lose his mind. _

"_I have only one regret though, and that is…- the flaxen haired male fixed his cold, uncaring eyes on his nephew, his lips stretching into another horrible smile. – that I couldn't kill you right now." _

_Gaara gave a retreating step back, his eyes wide and dreadful as he shook his head. He felt Betrayed, his anguish was immense but he still was in denial, after all, he had always thought that his uncle was the only one that loved him. He had been wrong. _

_So that meant that…_

_All those years he had been living with his uncle, all that time he was just…pretending?, pretending to care for him, pretending the smiles, the jokes, the camaraderie…furthermore, how could he had lived and trained with the very product of his lover's wife? _

_Gaara shook his head, trying to refrain the tears from spilling…_

_Here lay the only one he had ever truly loved and admired, his role model, bleeding to death from a self inflicted wound on his chest after he had tried to kill him unsuccessfully in the most shameful ways possible: He had tried to kill him while he was asleep and thus he had raped the most important rules as a soldier: _

_"Never inflict harm upon your allies" and, "one who kills another man in his sleep is a disgrace, for he is nothing but a coward" _

_From a distance, Gaara could hear the leftovers of his cold heart shattering to never be mended again._

_From that day onward, Sabaku no Gaara, now with the title of General, suffered a terrible metamorphosis, he became the real monster people always feared he would become. A ruthless assassin and a useful tool for the king to the eyes of the people but nothing more but a shadow of the real Gaara to their siblings. _

"_Bring the messengers" the redheaded general commanded to a nearby minion as he stared with interest at the map stretched across the rounded table in front of him, and as the nameless man got out of the tent in a hurry, Gaara's attention focused solely on a particular red figurine among the seas of blue and red dots lying methodically on the map. _

* * *

"_General" two men greeted him with a stern salute, their faces grim and solemn as the redhead took his time to turn around and acknowledge their presence with a spare glance as he strolled closer to them, the small figurine on his right hand. _

"_What was the reply?" the young man asked casually, his smooth voice carrying a dangerous undertone. Both men looked at him with barely concealed fear. "The head of the clan refused our offering" the bravest one said, his eyes fixed on the General's chin instead of his eyes. "What were his exact words?" the cold general asked, his voice becoming truly dangerous. "He said; I am truly sorry but I'll have to decline, we will not risk the lives of our men to such malevolent purpose" there was a cold silence for a moment as the redhead scowled, his hand finally crushing the figurine in his hand. "Did you explain that his refusal is considered as treason?" the redhead growled. Both men flinched and refused to look at the General. "Yes we did, sire…" one of them said feebly, staring intently at the wall behind the imposing visage of the rather very young general. "But he said that he would fight, if he must" the redhead growled and threw the shattered figurine to the floor. As soon as he uttered the dismissal words the men left quickly, not daring to see the infuriated and dangerous General. _

_Gaara turned around; fire alit in his eyes as he trashed the table, sending thousands of figurines to the floor. "Brother?" a hesitant hand touched his shoulders. "What?!" he yelled and turned around, taking hold of the hand and squeezing it painfully on his iron grip. The blond young woman in front of him cried out in pain and snatched her hand back. "What is wrong with you?!" she countered, "the poor men _

_outside are almost dead with fright" Gaara glared at her with his most dangerous and angry eyes he had ever summoned. "OUT!" he bellowed, pushing the blonde outside his tent and to the silent camping place as each and every soldier watched them, the frightening silence getting on the redhead's nerves easily. "What are you looking at?!" he spat to everyone, but they were as still as statues. "We'll part tomorrow morning, prepare yourselves for a fight" The young General commanded and retreated into his tent, ignoring the questioning stares he received._

_Gaara sat on the only chair that wasn't broken, staring with disinterest at the floor and trying to calm himself down, how dare that man mock him?, oh but he will soon enough prove that no one dared to toy with him. _

* * *

When he finally awakened from his forced sleep, his head hurt as if someone was viciously stabbing it with a knife. He winced, rubbing his skull with quivering hands and blinked twice; adjusting his tender eyes to the bright light in the unfamiliar room he was currently residing in against his will and realized with sheer distress that he had been crying in his sleep.

He was shocked and hurt, his wide eyes were staring at the ceiling as he lay motionless and unblinking, tears leaking freely as he replayed all those terrible memories and how he really wasn't wanted by the ones he considered close to him, the betrayal and pain still evident in his mind like hot iron on skin. After a while of just laying on the mattress, he sat up slowly, his eyes fixed on the mirror on the other side of the room, watching with disinterest how the crystalline tears ran down his cheeks; morbidly realizing that this was the first time he had cried in a very long time.

He should be happy by now, happy to know who he really was and where did he come from, but now that he knew some of the truth…he didn't feel satisfied at all… he felt disgusted, bitter and hopeless.

Oh, now he surely would have paid any price just to be able to forget it all…the irony of his situation and the eagerness for knowledge from his part was mockingly disgusting. It was so much better to be left naïve and carefree, just like he had been weeks ago.

When he was about to stand up, something constricting pulled him down again and his eyes widened when he noticed something cold and heavy weighing down both of his wrists…_no…they wouldn't…_he brought both wrists in front of his face only to be angered by the precautions pulled against him.

_So they were playing that game on him now… _

He sighed, hanging his head low and wiping away his tears as he contemplated what would happen next until the door of the bedroom opened and a very familiar scent wafted through the room and directly to his slightly flared nostrils, it was the sweetest and most intoxicating aroma that belonged only to one person, a beautiful creature with very cruel intentions.

"What are you doing here?" the redhead snapped reflexively, openly glaring at the cool brunet that strolled inside without sparing the fuming redhead a glance. "…So you are awake" was the only quite response Neji offered as he nodded in the redhead's direction, stealing a discrete glance of the other 

male over his shoulder as he settled down a few medical supplies on the desk, noticing with his keen eyes Gaara's puffy and red eyes.

The redhead tried to stand up from the bed but winced almost immediately when the cold shackles on his wrists yanked him down again. Gaara cursed heatedly when his skull splitting headache only intensified in protest, and he threw a dirty look at Neji, who thought it to be highly amusing and had thrown him a smirk over his shoulders. Gaara struggled with the chains for a while until he got bored and instead opted to stare at the other human being in the room, craning and twisting his neck so he could catch a glimpse of what the other was doing until Neji turned around and walked straight to the bed, his cold eyes staring impersonally at him.

"Bow your head" he commanded in his usual cold voice, but the redhead didn't even budge, he just openly glared at him in defiance. "I said, bow your head" the brunet commanded more impatiently but Gaara was as still as a statue. Neji rolled his eyes and pushed Gaara's head down non-to-gently, earning a low growl in exchange. "What the hell are you doing?!" the redhead snapped, glaring at the bandaged hand of the brunette but not resisting really. "Just shut up" Neji dabbed a cloth furiously on a blood caked wound on the back of his head, making the redhead wince and instantly clutch at the chains. "It wouldn't hurt to be nicer" the redhead snapped with gritted teeth, glaring from underneath his lashes at Neji, who just laughed coldly. "Why would I be nice to you?"

Gaara tensed when those cruel words were spoken so blatantly and he pulled at the chains and managed to take a hold of Neji's injured hand. The brunet tensed immediately and his eyes watered as he stopped cleaning the wound.

"Would you please release my hand?" he asked with gritted teeth, his eyes glaring down at the other male, who merely quirked his lips into a threatening smile before his grip tightened.

Neji lost his composure and cried out; dropping the bowl he was holding to the wooden floor, which spilled water everywhere. Gaara smirked; he loved to see the other boy restless. "I told you to stop" he said, tightening his grip. Neji winced but tried not to show that he was in pain, he wouldn't give the bastard the pleasure.

"Why are you doing this?" Gaara's knuckles were turning white as he clutched the bandaged hand. Neji bit his lower lip hard, maybe out of frustration or because of the pain in his hand. "Because I was told to do so" Neji gazed coldly at him, even though warm moisture invaded his eyes, making his vision a bit blurry. "You're lying" Gaara stated simply, his hold on Neji's hand loosening slightly. "No I'm not." Neji stared at the ceiling, trying to retain the tears that were dangerously trying to break free. "Look into my eyes and tell me you hate me" Gaara pulled down a very startled Neji until they were face to face, his hot breath tickling Neji's neck. Gaara's other hand ghosted over Neji's arm and up his shoulders until they rested on a warm and soft cheek. Neji stopped breathing and his eyes widened with dread; Gaara's lips were inching closer but both their eyes were unblinking, staring fully at the other, refusing to show any kind of weakness. The scenario at the woods Neji had purposely ignored until that moment started to replay in his mind and he remembered how delicious those lips were, how incredibly soft Gaara's skin was and how magnificent that pair of feline teal eyes were and a shameless blush crept to his cheeks. 

Gaara smiled, his thumb caressing Neji's lips as he closed the distance between them. '_Don't let him…please…don't let him…' _Neji thought frantically to himself, but his insolent body remained as still as a statue. His blush intensified with each passing second until it happened. Gaara closed his eyes and…

They kissed.

When Gaara's lips touched his, various things happened at the same time; his heart skipped a beat, his throat tightened into a knot and his insides churned and the damn blush only deepened more. Neji was so shocked he did nothing at first, and that was until he felt teeth pulling at his lower lip and a very persistent tongue trying to make its way in. Neji started to struggle out of panic, but Gaara was strongly determined to continue, so he closed his eyes, tangled his hands on Neji's hair, pulled his hair and deepened the kiss, forceful to prove his point by untying the bounded hair with his free hand and making it fall around like a dark waterfall. Neji stopped struggling and blinked slowly, staring at the long maroon eyelashes of the person he was supposed to hate with all his might. Why couldn't he push him away?

Gaara frowned in the kiss, Neji was unresponsive, and his eyes were open and his lips unmoving, clearly not interested in whatever he was doing. Gaara sighed and dropped his hands unwillingly and stared at the floor panes in shame. "Why are you doing this?" Neji suddenly asked softly, his eyes staring blankly at him, the pretty blush that was previously staining his cheeks now gone and his disheveled hair still in disarray over his shoulders. "I don't know…" was the honest reply the redhead could think off. Maybe Neji would leave him be and not do something very drastic, like killing him or proclaim to the whole world of his disgraceful interest in men.

"You're doing this on purpose" the brunet said after a while, his beautiful jewel-like eyes painfully cold as he glared at the hopeless redhead lying on the bed, exposed, hurt and shackled to the wall. "What a way to do things, eh?-" Neji glowered, his hands balled into shaking fists and his teeth smashed together. "Do you think you could get out of this by just seducing me?" Neji waited for an answer, a denial or compliance, anything, but there was none; Gaara was silent and unmoving, his eyes just staring at him in a bored fashion before he readjusted his position on the bed. The lack of reaction only fueled Neji's fury.

"Who do you think you are, anyway?" Neji continued arguing hotly as he climbed off the bed ungraciously to stand to a considerable distance from the object of his violent desires; but Gaara was there, unaffected and calm, sitting on the edge of the bed, his arms stretched by his sides as far as the shackles would allow him. Neji pursed his lips and his fingers flexed open and close against the palm of his hands, already desiring to enclose around the slender neck of that obnoxious redheaded demon. "You come here, to this house, and decided that you wanted to play with my mind?" still, no reply. Neji lost his patience when the redhead only blinked slowly, his eyes blankly staring at him. "Listen very well…" Neji finally snapped, his hands fisting a handful of Gaara's borrowed shirt as he closed the distance in between their faces, their noses barely touching. "I hate you since the day you decided to kill my parents and that will never change-" Neji's voice was low and dangerous as he spoke, his pale face livid and his fists shaking with hardly contained anger. Gaara didn't even winced when Neji nails dug on 

the skin of his collarbone until he drew blood. "Not today, not tomorrow and not in the next life…you only disgust me." Those words seemed to bring something on that sick head of his, Neji noticed, for the demon's calm face twisted in pain and remorse. "…call it irony, but, you attract me" the demon responded, his lips twirling in a bitter smile as his hand traced the contours of Neji's face until the other boy slapped his hand away with cold, unyielding hatred.

"Stop saying lies…I will never let you out" Neji said darkly as he glared viciously at him. Gaara furrowed his eyes.

"I'm not lyin-" Neji shook his head and muffled the rest of the redhead's sentence with his hand.

"You know what? ...I don't really need to tolerate this…" the indignant brunet replied before he spun around and started to gather the medicines and the broken bowl in a hurry. Gaara watched him silently; his arms crossed and head rested on a soft pillow. The brunet paced all the way to the door and paused on the threshold to throw him a last glare, his hand on the doorknob as he let a little malicious smile curl his perfect lips. "I can't wait to see you dead"

Once the door was shut and the redhead was alone, Gaara lowered his eyes to stare at the fresh crescent wounds dug on his palms that were made by his own fingernails while he quarreled with the obstinate male, beads of blood smearing on his palm as he caressed the wounds.

His previous tense smile faltered until it shattered into a scowl.

It hurt…all those vicious retorts, the angry pale eyes and the evil smiles…he let a small cackle shake his body.

It hurt like hell…and the most frustrating bit about it was that he didn't know why.

His heart…

He couldn't comprehend what was wrong with it, it hurt as if it had been torn apart, hell, he didn't even know that he had one until that very moment the younger male had oh so derisively played with it, tugging at it and manipulating it as if it was a toy.

An ordinary person in his position would have noticed that it was not ordinary to be feeling that way towards someone else, that this new and uncomfortable feeling budding in his heart was something dreadfully scary for him, something deeper than attraction; something that could manipulate him to his own damnation.

…something like_ love. _

Gaara chuckled darkly under his breath, finding highly amusing his trail of thought.

…_Love? _

Really, he must have had some serious brain damage when that dark haired minx had struck him with that stone.

…_Him in love? _

Impossible; it is useless, highly unintelligent and pathetic to think of the possibility.

People with ordinary and happy lives fell in love; he _was_ not an ordinary man, he was a demon; a heartless monster with a nonexistent conception about love or friendship, some cruel joke sent from the devil for its own twisted amusement, a demon that possessed a highly destructive nature, and obviously enough, he was doomed to live in solitude.

He shook his head, trying to get rid of that painful feeling in his chest.

Whatever he was feeling at the moment was just pure lust and attraction.

_Nothing more. _

* * *

"_Gaara…" a very needy Neji whined; his eyes closed tightly as calloused hands traced over perky nipples. "…stop teasing me" he had growled, buckling his hips upwards against the other's warmth. Said male lowered his face until he was kissing the pale but scorching flesh of his naked torso as his hips gave powerful thrusts downwards, his ragged breaths tickling Neji's sensitive neck and ear as he quietly bit down on his shoulder blade, trying hard to stifle his pleasured moans. _

"_Be patient, love" the older man whispered, one hand tightly clutching his hip and the other entangled on his long dark hair._

"_I want you now!" the brunet cried, grasping at Gaara's own hips before he searched blindly for his pants crotch buttons and upon finding them he tugged them wildly to the amusement of one chuckling redhead. _

"_If you insist" he whispered huskily, tugging at his own pants and taking them off in a swift and elegant movement before throwing the cloth carelessly to the floor. _

_Gaara bend forward, exposing his body when the bed sheets fell down, uncovering his perfect physic to the aroused brunet on the bed. _

"_Do you like what you see?" he asked, a cocky smirk contorting his handsome face as his naughty hands trailed down south to disappear under the sheets. _

_Neji's eyes widened tremendously and he cried out uncharacteristically as the redhead's cold hands grasped his erected member and began stroking him up and down slowly._

_Neji's hands shut up to grab at Gaara's own instinctively, his helpless diamond eyes begging him to do much more. _

"_This might hurt…"Gaara stated seriously as he spread his legs apart and situated himself in a comfortable position in between his legs. _

"_Are you sure about it?" the redhead asked, his arousal poking his inner tights softly, a reminder of what was about to happen. The blushing brunet tried to squeeze his legs close, but the redhead maintained them apart. Giving a soft nod of his head, the boy turned his head to the side and buried his face on the pillow, too embarrassed to admit that he was about to do such a scandalous act with the man he was supposed to hate. _

_Gaara gave a soft smile and caressed his silky dark hair before he pushed his legs up and over his shoulders; the startled boy yelped as he was bend over such a curious angle but said nothing else as the redhead revealed both their bodies, and his eyes widened with dread when he noticed the size of Gaara's manhood before he spluttered incoherent sentences, scared that such thing would actually fit inside of him. _

_Gaara hushed him and kissed him once more, giving shallow thrusts against his hips, the pleasurable friction between their arousals successfully distracting Neji from his previous fear. _

_In fact, Neji was so distraught that he didn't notice what was going on until he felt something hot and hard pressing against his entrance. _

_The brunet cringed and his whole body tensed, making the man on top of him to moan loudly._

"_Stop doing that…it hurts" the redhead said breathily, halting all movement as the boy closed his eyes tightly and tried to relax as much as he could. _

_Gaara's pink tongue darted out of his mouth to stroke his nipples as his hands started to jerk his erection as fast and as hard as he was able to, all the while breaking in the lithe and small body until he was fully sheathed in that hot and tight hole. _

"_Oh gods…" the redhead whispered, his face twisted in sheer pleasure as he started to rock his hips softly, his breath hitching with every single movement he made. _

_The brunet below moaned loudly, fresh tears glistening on his eyes as the intense pain mixed with pleasure coursed through his body like fire._

_Gaara's breathing became ragged and his grip on Neji's hips intensified, making the boy cringe, knowing that it would definitely leave a bruise afterwards._

_But then, as the Gaara gave one particular powerful thrust, Neji's eyes widened and his back arched back, a low guttural moan erupting from his abused pink lips. _

"_Oh god, Again!" he cried out, jerking his hips upwards and impaling himself. Gaara leaned down and gave him an open wet kiss, darting his tongue out and tasting his mouth as his jerks became wilder and faster, always hitting that place inside of Neji that made him feel so good. _

_The pain had disappeared long ago to be replaced by blinding hot pleasure, and the intense sensation of being filled repeatedly, the delicious friction inside of him and the fire pooling on his lower stomach was too much for Neji, who was now shaking his head from side to side, his back still arched and his arms _

_around the other male in an embrace as he pounded into him; the sounds of panting and skin slapping skin the only sound in the room. _

"_Gaara…I'm going to…" the brunet cried, biting his lower lip hard as his eyes rolled back inside his eyelids as an intense wave of pleasure hit him hard, and as his body shook and his passage tightened, a hot whiteness spilled from his member to both their stomachs. Gaara moaned loudly and gave a few more shallow thrusts until his whole body tensed and something warm was released inside of him. _

_With merely just a shudder, the redhead fell down on top of him, the whisper of a pleasant smile tugging at the end of his lips upwards as both of them tried to regain their breaths._

"_I love you, Gaara" Neji whispered, his arms still wound tightly around him. _

_The redhead looked up, and at that very moment, the redhead looked beautiful as his aquamarine eyes glinted with happiness. _

"_You know I love you too…" a bright smile spread over rosy lips as both lovers embraced each other, basking on the aftermath of their passion. _

* * *

"…_Neji?"_ Hanabi asked as the boy in the bed opened his sleepy eyes to stare wearily at her.

"what?" he asked, rubbing his eyes and yawning but the girl didn't responded. he frowned and then noticed that she was staring directly at his lower half body.

"stop staring at my..." his voice died in his troath as he lowered his gaze to himself, his eyes widened and a blush crept to his cheeks as he noticed the reason behind his cousin's staring.

The small child had been staring at a prominent bulge protruding from his bed sheets, and as if Neji wasn't terrified enough by now, the girl decided to pipe in.

"What's that?" the girl asked, pointing at his rather big problem with her pretty eyes wide with curiosity.

Neji would have fainted if it wouldn't have been for the fact that it would be highly out of character, so he instead opted to yell at the poor girl to get out of his room, which was also very un-Neji like.

Neji cringed as the girl exited his room and once he was alone in the confines of his room, his shaky hands lifted the crumpled bed sheets from his lower self and he blushed, his own eyes widened, but now with shock and fear.

"Oh…crap" was all he muttered as he covered himself once more, his eyes still wide as saucers.

* * *

_AN: _and so, the plot unravels...

i hope you liked it :)


	7. bound to happen

Story by: I am Ghost

Disclaimer: i don't own...sadly

* * *

_A small girl was happily playing hide and seek, a full- fledged grin etched on her face as she sat quietly on her hiding spot; an old armoire on her father's office. She was absolutely sure nobody would search for her in there since her father scared away most of her cousins with just a mere glare…Hiashi's office was obviously out of boundaries, but if she just stayed a bit longer, she would be a winner…for the fifth time in a row. She couldn't be happier._

_Time passed and the small girl was getting tired of waiting, particularly because the armoire was old, dusty and dark, not a fun place for a small kid, specially a girl; which made her change her mind quickly. Deciding she had waited enough, she stood up and opened the door just slightly…but just when she was about to slip away from it, someone opened the door, forcing her to scramble back inside. _

"…_please, let's discuss these matters in my office" was all she heard as the very characteristically cold voice of her father drifted in from outside._

_The little girl's pale eyes widened…if her father found out she had entered his office without his permission he would be enraged…and she didn't want that…her father scared her very much when he got mad. _

_She stilled her breathing and shut her mouth; afraid it would disobey her and talk when her father was doing some important business. _

"_Gentlemen, please take a seat" the polite but cold as ice voice of her father sent chills down her spine._

_Two men in heavy armor entered the room, looking apathetic as they reluctantly obeyed her father. _

"…_Wine?" Hiashi asked, ruffling through a cupboard's content and successfully taking out three glasses of wine. _

_The two men declined; their harsh faces awfully stern and impolite. Her father merely shrugged his shoulder before pouring a generous amount of the red liquid into a glass._

"_We do believe you have an offer for us, mister Hyuga?" one of the armored men asked, his hard eyes staring unblinkingly at the brunet, gauging for a reaction. Her father merely took a sip of wine, eyes staring back at the armored man with equal force. _

"_Why yes, commandant. I was suggested by some sources that you lacked support and I can't find a reason why, since Ulster isn't much of a match for you…"_

_A curt nod from the guests, another sip of wine and a sleazy smirk from her father. _

"_I do believe I could get fine equipment for your awaiting army for a fair price" both the eyebrows of the warriors lifted in wonderment. _

"_Where's the catch?" one of them asked, lifting both his feet to rest on the desk; Hiashi's eyebrow quirked with hidden annoyance at the infuriating action but refrained himself from speaking his thoughts out loud._

"_There's not one really…I just want to have a small personal revenge against Ulster...The general to be exact."_

_Both armored men seemed to accept the answer, for they nodded their heads._

"_So…do we have a deal?" he asked, stretching his hand._

_The higher ranked warrior accepted the gesture, a mean smirk forming on his own lips. _

"_Of course…"_

* * *

Hinata woke up in the middle of the night, covered in cold sweat and restless, eyes wide with dreadful realization…All this time since she was just a kid she had suppressed that memory deep inside the recess of her mind...just to be revealed to her in that instant. Truth had such twisted ways…

When she was just a girl she hadn't understood what the 'grownups' were talking about, but now she was old enough to know that they were punishing the wrong person all this time…the real villain in this story was no other but her own father.

Truth always hurt and it always came out in the end…but what would Neji do once it was all revealed to him?

…_Would he still hate their prisoner? _

The dark haired young woman bit her lower lip hard…she was scared of her cousin's reaction, but…

She needed to inform him.

* * *

...

_Damn it all...IT didn't go away!_

He had tried everything. Bathing with icy cold water, thinking about unattractive people, harming himself with a pillow repeatedly, desperate as he was, he even tried to command it to obey his will…but nothing made the god-forsaken arousal go away!

Neji sighed in frustration as he glared at the stiff and throbbing appendage in between his legs. This had never happened in all the sixteen years of his life…until now, of course, so he clearly had no clue as to how to make it go away, apart from the obvious way of getting rid of it, which he clearly didn't want to do.

He was also very scared by the reason of his current state…He had never dreamt of anyone in his whole life and the worst part of the whole situation was that it wasn't an ordinary dream…it was a very graphic and sexual kind of dream with a very disturbing ending he didn't even want to remember for the sake of his remaining sanity. As if it wasn't enough to deal with, his thoughts that day always strayed to very dirty and sacrilegious thoughts concerning his worst enemy

…but _oh_ no, it didn't end there…

His little cousin had strolled inside his room probably to bother him just like every morning but ended up finding him in that embarrassing aroused state and being the curious and obnoxious child she was, she hadn't lost time to ask what was the '_big_ _thing_' below the bed sheets.

He had almost fainted right there and then...but nothing happened, he did not fainted and she did not left the room, he was just as lucid as ever and Hanabi as boisterous as she could ever be.

He truly felt like an adolescent boy at that moment by feeling utterly guilty and panicked for some naughty activity he had done (that was unintended in the first place); which pushed him to act even more out of character than ever. He yelled at the little girl to get out in a very high pitched (and sadly effeminate) voice and then he complained about not having proper privacy, all the while a stubborn blush staining his usually pale cheeks.

…If that entire inferno happened in just ten minutes he didn't want to imagine what could happen on the rest of the day…so he was pretty much afraid of getting out of the safety of his bedroom.

Which lead us to the conclusion that Neji hadn't moved, for he had been lying on his bed for quite some time since that disastrous encounter, glaring at the unwavering erection with sheer hatred and gritted teeth (surprisingly it had stayed the same, even after Hanabi had fled from his bedroom) until someone knocked on his door twice, provably Hinata informing him it was time for breakfast.

After releasing a heavy sigh, he compelled his body to walk towards the wooden closet across his bedroom, then without sparring a single glance towards his wardrobe, he threw some random clothes on the bed and ignored his uncontrolled aroused member as he dressed himself in a rather uncomfortable manner, then he walked inside his bathroom and planted himself in front of the full size mirror on one corner and combed his long dark hair and arranged it into a low ponytail like routine demanded. (Vain? …No, he was just overly scrupulous…right).

He threw one last glance at his reflection in the mirror, noticing how distressed and anxious he looked as he opened and exited his bedroom.

He hoped this time god would have enough mercy to just spare him from further embarrassment.

The dining room was silent and awkward when he decided to make appearance. His uncle stared at him with a raised eyebrow as he drank wine, probably asking him silently why it had taken him so long just to dress himself, but he decided to ignore the pointed look and sat down, Hinata already bustling around serving hot lemon tea and oatmeal to the rest of the family, her head bowed low all the time as a sign of complete submission and shame.

Neji still remembered the escaping incident that took place just a few nights ago and how angry his uncle had been later on, reprimanding Hinata in any way imaginable. Beating, yelling, insulting, glaring and locking her up in her own bedroom for long periods of time until he finally let her out and said he was going to "think about her future seriously".

The poor girl had taken all of his uncle's ill tempered behavior without much of a complaint, feeling completely guilty for what she had done. But her mistake was there, still fresh and just as insulting as a slap across his uncle's face. Being treason a taboo topic for him, Hiashi had always taken that matter so seriously it was borderline lunatic, and being Hinata his daughter, he supposed it hurt his pride much more than had it been anyone else, leading him to treat her with utmost cruelty.

As for Hanabi, she was smirking like the naughty child she was, poking the food in her bowl, making faces and yelling how she didn't want to eat oatmeal. Hiashi merely ignored her, but there was certainly an annoyed tick in his eye.

As far as he was concerned, Hanabi was the sheer embodiment of what a Hyuga never did…and it was somehow refreshing…in a very odd way.

She didn't have a sense of proper behavior nor the meekness every female in the clan ought to have, she was overly loud, boisterous and cocky… and she definitely didn't have an ounce of discreetness or sensibility.

The silence was broken when his uncle decided to lower his glass of wine, fixing his calculating eyes on his nephew.

"What took you so long?" his uncle asked expectantly while analyzing the young brunet's face with his cold sharp eyes.

"I was…I felt tired, I guess…so I decided to sleep a bit more, my apologies" he responded, avoiding eye contact at all cost. The cold eyes of Hiashi narrowed with suspicion, his nephew _never_ stuttered…. Hanabi felt jealous upon the sudden special attention Neji was currently receiving, and she remembered the whole morning ordeal and her eyes lit up with an evil gleam. Hanabi proceeded to bounce on her seat briskly, overexcited.

"I saw cousin Neji having a very strange nightmare…he was moaning and sweating!" The girl yelled; Hiashi lifted an eyebrow, clearly curious, Hinata merely lifted her gaze nervously. A blush rose to the brunet's face, the mouthful of oatmeal he was swallowing got stuck on his throat and his eyes watered from the strain as he coughed violently.

"…and there was this _huge_-!" still coughing and all, a now awfully flushed Neji flown across the table and covered the girl's mouth with his hands with such velocity it struck both Hinata and Hiashi to silent contemplation.

Hiashi's lips thinned. Hinata's eyes widened and a very uncomfortable and awkward silence ensued. Everyone; including Hanabi, were gawking at Neji as if he had grown another head. After all…it wasn't a common event to see someone like the ever calm and graceful Hyuga Neji doing such a childish act.

Neji dropped his hands and walked back stiffly to his seat, his left eye twitching dramatically as he continued to eat his meal as if nothing had happened, but there were still remnants of a pink blush staining his usually pale skin. It was at that moment that Hiashi finally understood the reason of Neji's abnormal manners.

"Neji, I wish to talk to you in private after breakfast" he said offhandedly, putting extra emphasis to the word private and actually averting his eyes to stare derogatively at Hinata, all the while picking at his food daintily but never actually eating, as if he was afraid it was poisoned. Neji didn't miss the hurt expression on his younger cousin as he nodded his head in approval.

The rest of the meal resulted in more awkwardness until both Hanabi and Hinata exited the room so they could leave both males to chat in private.

As soon as the girls were out of ear-shot, Hiashi sat on his favorite armchair and set his perturbing white eyes on him.

"I think there is no way to avoid this…talk, so I'll make it quick" He said, throwing a look at the closed door to make sure the girls weren't spying.

"…There comes an age in which you feel certain needs in some parts of your body, and-" Neji's eyes widened with panic when he noticed where the conversation was leading. _Oh no…I rather die than hear this from my uncle!_ He cried mentally.

"Oh, don't worry uncle…you don't have to talk about that…" he said, his voice squeaky with embarrassment. His uncle raised a thin eyebrow, analyzing him from top to bottom with his cold and unwavering gaze.

"Oh…so you do know what's happening to you, son?" he asked, sounding uncomfortable as well.

Neji snapped his head up and down quickly, his ponytail bouncing slightly with every ungraceful swig of his head.

"Very well then…let's discuss something else" The older male stood up from the armchair and took the cane resting against the wall next to his seat and supported himself with it in his slightly curved but still elegant posture.

"The Inuzuka's offered a very fair price for Hinata, so I took the liberty of selling her. Hinata will be leaving tomorrow, so I need a favor to ask of you…" the man said as cold hearted as ever, unblinking and untroubled as he talked about selling his own daughter to perpetual slavery as if he was talking about the weather.

"…you will be the one in charge of that _filth _from now forward, since I cannot trust her anymore" His uncle finished, walking all the way to the nearest wooden cupboard to take out a bottle of mead.

Neji's eyes widened with terror. He couldn't let it happen, he couldn't afford to see the redhead anymore if he wanted to keep his sanity intact, he needed to avoid this responsibility at all cost…but it was futile to start an argument with his uncle. He always won in every discussion, for he was the one in charge, but it didn't hurt to try.

"But…you know how much I loathe him!" he cried with passion, one hand ruffling his hair for an extra dramatic effect as his eyes bore deep into the unfeeling ones of his uncle.

"But Neji, you're the only one I trust, besides, I wouldn't leave that task to Hanabi…she's far too young for such responsibility" Neji opened his mouth to protest, to say anything to save himself, but his mouth only stayed open.

"Don't worry. Just make sure he eats…I don't care about the rest" his uncle replied, taking a swig direct from the bottle…so much like an alcoholic.

"…also, I want you to inform Hinata of her departing, I do not wish to talk to her" he commanded, emptying the bottle with another swig.

Neji pursed his pink lips in indignation but didn't say anything else as he walked out of the room.

"Oh, and Neji…?" Said brunet stopped dead on his tracks to stare back at his uncle expectantly.

An evil smirk formed on the older male's slightly tipsy face as he struggled to keep his equilibrium.

"Remember not to shout names next time you have that kind of dream" The color drained from Neji's face completely, for his uncle's slurred words were decipherable enough to make Neji want to die in that instant.

And his following reactions were enough to entertain his drunken uncle for a while.

His eyes widened to comical proportions, his mouth parted open in a perfectly curved "o" and his cheeks dusted with a furious blush after he recovered from the initial shock. He seemed he was about to faint until he had the strength to run to the door and snap it shut before he ran all the way to the safety of his own bedroom, locking himself away from society until he saw fit enough to walk out (…Probably never).

All the while, his drunken uncle was laughing so hard he had to support himself on the wall.

This was definitely not his day.

* * *

After the disastrous breakfast meal and the hellish after encounter with his uncle, Neji was facing now a new dilemma.

It was time for him to spill the truth to his oblivious cousin, who was oh so innocently sitting on the chair in front of his desk, her hands folded over her lap, her posture elegant but her eyes betrayed her, they were visibly distressed as she stared at him expectantly.

But every time he opened his mouth to say the news, no sound came out; words were jumbled chaotically in his head, confusing him as he thought of a way to approach her. So he just shut his mouth, for he couldn't find the exact words to express what he wanted to say without hurting the girl in the process.

Neji looked up to the ceiling of his bedroom with a very frazzled expression while he combed his braided hair, an obvious sign of exasperation that Hinata noticed almost immediately, but didn't commented on it, as she still waited for her cousin to tell her whatever was troubling his mind. The poor brunet was pretty sure God hated him, for there was no way to tell her the truth without hurting her. At that moment he wanted to kill his uncle.

"Cousin, you can tell me" Hinata said softly, her distressed eyes showing seriousness at the pressing matter at hand.

So, it was clear he had no choice but to tell her bluntly.

"Well…uncle wishes to send you away to work as a slave…" he said tentatively, seating himself on the bed. Upon seeing his cousin's pained expression, Neji bit his lips…he wasn't as cold hearted as everyone thought he was, and the girl that was about to cry was sure about it.

"Where?" the dark haired girl asked almost in a whisper, her eyes staring at him brokenly as she thought about Hanabi and what would she do without her dear family.

"Konoha" the brunet blurted out after two long and uncomfortable minutes, letting a lengthy sigh escape his lips as he let himself fall over the bed, defeated.

The girl stood up abruptly from the chair and strode all the way to the window across the bedroom, trying to hide desperately the fresh tears that were ready to spill from her eyes.

"Hinata…there's still time for you to run away" said the brunet, pushing himself upwards to a seating position, gazing at the young woman with hopeful eyes.

"Where do you want me to go? Have you forgotten we do not have any family left?" the girl countered, showing her distressed face to the older boy, the tears she was trying to hold back already spilling from her pained eyes.

"But you can ask your friends to take you in or something" the older male provided.

"No…if that is what my father wishes for me, then I cannot contradict him" She alleged, already walking to the door. Defeated.

"So that's it? Are you going to give in just like that?" The brunet argued, standing up and walking all the way to where his cousin was.

"It is not as if I can change what is set upon my destiny, dear cousin" the girl replied, a sad little smile forming on her lips.

The brunet pursed his lips in resignation of the pressing matter at hand.

The girl dried her tears before she opened the door and turned her head around so she could face her cousin. She smiled sympathetically at him.

It was the perfect moment for her to tell him the whole truth…but she knew it would be almost impossible to say something serious in her current state.

"Before I leave…there is something we need to discuss, Neji, something of great importance…" she whispered, but before the brunet had time to ask what, she was already out of his bedroom.

* * *

His stomach growled for the tenth time that day, leaving the redhead to scowl. Being chained to a bed wasn't very comfortable either, for certain anatomical places became numb after a while and his limbs demanded him to stand up and do something, but he could only go as far as halfway across the bedroom, so he pretty much hadn't have a way to satisfy necessities such as bladder or hunger.

Leaving him completely annoyed.

He sighed, his thoughts returning to the last time he had made contact with the overly feisty Neji. There wasn't really much hope for him; he was already terribly in love with him, but the other male still had an entire life to spend, and he seemed determined enough to spend it making Gaara's life miserable with his cruel ways. He shook his head in defeat. The pretty brunet didn't have a clue as to how much his harsh words had an effect on him, or how much that kiss he remember sharing with him in the forest had haunted him trough dreamless nights, taunting him of what he couldn't have.

He supposed he deserved it, the cruel ways of such beautiful creature, for he had the main fault of what had happened to his clan, but the fault wasn't entirely his…if Neji only knew who else was involved in it, the proud boy would be so hurt he'll probably leave to never return.

He sat on the bed, staring aimlessly at the ground with his insomniac circled eyes lost in thought. What would happen if he told Neji what had really happened that night all those years ago, when he himself had been just barely a teenager doing brash actions and never regretting?, what would the brunet do if he discovered that he wasn't the only one involved in the massacre?

He shook his head, a sad little smile bringing up the corner of his lips. That boy needn't the whole truth. He had to hate him for the sake of his own good; so he wouldn't suffer a greater consequence.

How cruel, thoughtless and rude, to be lying to him…

Just then, his keen hearing captured the faint sounds of steps that grew louder and louder until he heard them just outside the room, his eyes lit up with hope…maybe; maybe he would catch a glimpse of Neji…or at least have a decent meal. The door opened and closed with a violent swing and a very angry dark haired male stepped inside. Gaara opened his mouth to make a rude comment like it was so customary between them, but he received a very dark glare, followed by a soft voice with sharp edges.

"Listen well. I don't want to hear a god damn word from you or I swear I will hurt you" the aforementioned male exclaimed as he slammed the trail of food down on the desk across the room. The redhead jumped out of the bed in an instant, eyeing with barely concealed hunger at the bowl of oatmeal. Without much of a thank you, he proceeded to devour its contents, not really paying attention to the overly annoyed Hyuga, who had enough contempt to take a few steps back with shameless disgust painted on his face. When he didn't receive the reaction he desired, the brunet had the sudden urge to make the redheaded warlord cringe.

"…You know, uncle's going to sell Hinata as a slave" the Hyuga said casually as he toyed with a loose strand of dark hair, the tone seemed harmless and innocent, but a deadly and poisonous intent coated heavily the comment, his very soft and endearing voice coming out through clenched teeth like a strangled hiss. The redhead paused eating, the metallic spoon half way to his mouth as he blinked slowly, as if unable to understand the boy's language.

The redhead frowned in confusion. _Is he actually talking to him? _

This surely was a mistake, there had to be someone else in the room that random comment had been addressed to…

"…I-" Gaara started but closed his mouth, for he couldn't find words to describe his absolute confusion. The Hyuga only shook his head, eyes shut closed, revealing those very long and thick eyelashes that were surely the envy of so many women.

"Don't talk" he growled, his hand buried in his hair as he proceeded to walk in circles. The redhead's frown grew deeper; clearly not used to be treated so lowly by a mere civilian…hell, not even the king dared to treat him in such a way.

"And how, pray tell, is this significant for me?" he snapped, shoving the spoon into his mouth violently.

It was time for the Hyuga to be offended. He stopped storming around the room and fixed a glare in his direction.

"Under normal circumstances I wouldn't talk to you about this but it seems I have no choice, since uncle had the wonderful idea of leaving me in charge of your care-" Neji averted his gaze towards the other spiteful male, his eyes boring holes through his skull with his white as diamond eyes. "I normally wouldn't care if you die or something along those lines, but…" the brunet paused to sigh heavily, adding some extra drama to his sudden tantrum.

"-I only do it because I am forced to do it, not because I want to do it…keep that present in that twisted little head of yours"

The redhead pulled out the spoon from his mouth and dug it in the bowl with more force than necessary.

"So you say so to just to excuse your merciful actions" he scorned, smiling a forceful smirk that was more like a frown.

The brunet's eyes narrowed with pure odium and his following retort was as deadly accurate to the redhead's pride like an arrow thrown to the heart by the skilled hands of an archer.

"…if I had the chance to kill you, I would!" he spat, all composed and cool demeanor thrown out the window.

The offended redhead's characteristic hotheadedness resurfaced for the second time in the week; His hand clutching the spoon tightened until broadened knuckles went white as he got up rather abruptly from his place on the bed, throwing the tray's contents to the floor with a loud clutter of dishware.

With nothing but a wild impulse to prove the other wrong, Gaara stormed all the way across the room, stretching the chain attached to his wrist as far as it could as he approached the mad brunet, standing too close to the younger male who didn't took one single step back in a sign of defiance, his labored breath tickled Neji's neck as he whispered…

"Prove it" he snarled, thrusting the spoon on his hand. "Now" The boy stared at the spoon with a baffled expression and his thin eyebrows furrowed with anger.

…_is he mocking me?!_

"It's a spoon, for the love of god!" he cried, shaking his head in negation.

"Everything around you can be a potential weapon" the redhead retorted while he pulled loose the first three buttons of his collared shirt, revealing a very pale and soft neck.

"I…I" he stuttered, starting to feel horrified when the redhead drew down the collar and stretched out his milky soft neck for his benefit.

The brunet stretched his hand until the cold crescent edge of the spoon's head was pressed against white as marble skin but his hand was trembling with doubt, and at that moment he realized he wouldn't be capable to kill anything, not even his worst enemy, which really was a terrible blow to his pride and ego.

The redhead released a deep growl and took Neji's delicate hand with his own tough one and pressed the spoon harder against his own skin.

Neji started to feel sick, he couldn't permit it any longer; his hand started to struggle against Gaara's own, but the powerful warrior didn't let go, in fact, his grip intensified until the metallic edge dug on and broke skin, droplets of crimson liquid pouring out lazily.

The brunet pulled away with a gasp when he saw ruby red blood, but what really terrified him was how unperturbed Gaara looked before he chuckled darkly and shook his head from side to side, his fierce turquoise eyes mocking him under the amber light of the sun.

"Don't say things you're not going to do…-" he said with a malicious smirk stretching his lips. "…Coward"

Neji finally snapped. His eyes narrowed to slits and his lips thinned into a deep scowl. He could be called everything but coward…, that word alone was capable of increasing his rage just like fresh wood on fire. At the moment he wanted to prove the other wrong so desperately, he wanted the warlord to take it back and fear him; he wanted to be powerful, for every time he was near that damned redhead he felt small and weak…

His hands tightened into fists before he dug out a small knife from a secret place in his boot that he carried everywhere for safety, and with a quick movement pressed the sharp edge against the prominent vein on that pale neck until blood started to ooze more freely.

He wanted the redhead to drop his smirk, to be scared, to draw out a reaction, but there was none; he just stared blankly at him, as if waiting for him to slash his neck open.

Frustrated, the brunet dropped the weapon and looked at him straight in the eye.

"Why?" he asked, clutching at the redhead's shoulders with desperation.

The only answer he was provided perhaps was the most painful one; not because of the words, but because that answer was heavy with feeling.

"I am not scared to die…in fact, if I could be given a chance to choose my executioner, it would be you" Neji was left unarmed as the morbidly truthful words seeped in, he just stayed there, his hands still clutching his shoulders, but his head dropped down until he was staring at the woodened floor instead of staring at those turquoise eyes that were oh so devastatingly honest.

…Too see so much loneliness, shame, sadness and hatred in those eyes that had been pictured so many times as the eyes of a demon by common folklore was starting to affect him, because in those eyes there was no space for lies.

"Why?" he repeated, glaring down at his leather boots.

Cold fingertips pushed his chin upwards until he was face to face with the warlord, who at that moment looked weak and fragile, just like a broken porcelain doll.

"It's a fair trade, right? …after all, I was responsible for your family's massacre"

So much shame, so much bitterness in that voice…Neji shivered under the smoldering gaze…it was too intense. He raised his head and noticed that they were too close to be morally accepted, but instead of pushing the other away, his eyes were instantly drawn to those soft and luscious lips as if he had been 

under the effects of hypnosis, images of the wet dream he had experienced just a night ago starting to stir inside his perturbed mind.

He tried to look away from the tempting sight, but then he realized with utmost dismay that he couldn't tear away his eyes from those lips and his cheeks reddened with violent indignation. He needed to get away from that place, to get away from that man or he didn't know what he could be capable of doing if he stayed any longer; but even though his mind yelled at him to get away, to run and flee from a potentially dangerous outcome, his treacherous body was acting shamelessly hypocritical, for his suddenly heavy feet stayed rooted to the floor, his eyes wouldn't look away and his brain wouldn't function properly.

The redhead stared down at him for a few seconds, as if waiting for him to push him away, but the brunet didn't do anything but lower his gaze, hating the fact that he had to look up at the obnoxious warlord.

Hot breath pelted the sensitive skin of his neck like a caress, making him shiver involuntarily in sheer pleasure. The prude voice inside his head yelled and yelled for him to step back, knowing that they were now way too close…but he couldn't compel his body to retreat, not even one single step back.

A rough thumb was placed over his lower lip, tracing softly at the pink expanse of skin until it parted his lips ever so gently.

"Look at me…" the redhead murmured huskily and his untrustworthy eyes obeyed. That smoldering look was back on Gaara's eyes as he looked down at him. His breath hitched, his eyes widened and his heart skipped a beat when the redhead leaned his head further down until his soft and pleasantly warm lips captured the brunet's in a kiss.

He was petrified; there was really no other word to describe how he felt at the moment as he stood still with his eyes widened in pure shock, staring blankly at Gaara's insomnia darkened eyelids and dark red eyelashes as the older male kissed him expectantly. Why didn't he pushed him away, he never knew, but what he was pretty certain about was starting to scare him-

…He liked the feeling of being kissed.

One strong arm snaked around his small waist and pulled him closer against the taller body of the warlord while the other one dug into his neatly combed hair, massaging his scalp before tugging at his hair back so the towering redhead could gain better access to the brunet's virgin mouth.

It would sound shocking, but Neji was clueless when it came down to human contact (and worse when it came to romance) and at the moment he was trying very hard not to find the contact appealing and enjoyable, but his treacherous eyes were finding highly difficult to keep themselves open…

He knew he shouldn't be enjoying this, he should be mad, yes, extremely mad, but to his never ending shame, the Hyuga didn't do anything to stop the kiss; in fact, he did quite the contrary, he encouraged it when he finally let his eyes slip close and let his own arms encircled around the redhead's neck, pulling him closer for much needed contact.

'_Oatmeal…he tastes like oatmeal'_; that was what he vaguely thought as the annoying voice inside his head drifted off to somewhere very far inside his head.

Gaara's hand gripping his waist started to caress his sides lazily, tugging slightly at the hem of his shirt and trousers before firmly gripping the protruding hipbone that was just barely peeking out of his clothes, along with just a glance of his flat stomach.

Those lips grew demanding and passionate by the second, for they seemed determined to abuse the brunet's lips until they bled; That extremely talented mouth was no longer gentle, it bit, nipped and licked his lips desperately, plunging him back with the force of the kiss until he felt the cold wall against his back.

It wasn't long until both calloused hands of the warlord were entangled in his hair, massaging his scalp pleasantly and compelling him (to his utter embarrassment) to release small sounds of contentment when his strong and slender body pressed him hard against the wall, leaving no space between their warm bodies, but it seemed that the redhead wanted much more, for he soon enough felt the invasion of another tongue in his mouth, the small pink muscle tracing every curve and crevice inside his wet cavern before it caressed his own tongue, coaxing him to join the battle.

A small startled moan escaped his lips, the feeling of another tongue in his mouth was extremely peculiar but pleasant and he found himself not only responding to the redhead's tongue, but also fighting back with his own with the noticeable awkwardness only possessed by a beginner but with a passion and familiarity that rivaled the one of an old lover. The redhead growled gutturally, obviously enjoying his participation.

The hands on his hair were hastily removed but he had no time to miss it as Gaara's lips crashed back against his. Neji felt extremely breathless and hot as their mouths battled fiercely, teeth clashing and tongues savoring freely what the other's mouth beheld while Gaara's hands explored his body with small innocent caresses; it felt to good to be true…and he vaguely asked himself why the hell they hadn't done this before.

One strong hand slid down his side lazily and trailed down his small waist as their mouths ravished each other frantically, gripping his protruding hip bone and sliding lower until it took a firm hold of his thigh, and with a sudden impish smile on his raw lips, the redhead lifted his leg up and wounded it around his own hips.

Neji gasped as sheer pleasure invaded his lower half as powerful hips grinded against his own oh so suddenly and the young brunet snapped his eyes open, clear diamond meeting clouded turquoise gems. If their kissing felt good, then this felt awfully fantastic. And he wanted more…He needed more.

Feeling a sudden streak of boldness, he lifted his other leg over the redhead's hips, and upon sensing what the younger male had in mind, the redhead lowered his arms over his back so he could support his light weight. Feeling no ground under him, the brunet threw his arms over the redhead's shoulders to support himself, and then he tightened his hold over the redhead's hips with his long and slender legs on impulse, gasping ever so softly when a very strong and unavoidable desire pressed against his own painful one.

The kiss ended rather abruptly for needed air, and Neji placed his head on the redhead's shoulder, avoiding eye contact at all cost as both panted heavily, chests rising and falling quickly against the other.

"We shouldn't -" he started in between ragged breaths and the hands that were supporting him up slid down his back and cupped his derrière, making him jump up and yelp in surprise. The blush on his cheeks grew darker and his face contorted with indignation when the older male chuckled.

Losing all shame in an instant, he looked up and opened his mouth to say something vicious but those tempting lips locked his in another forceful kiss, but this time something had changed, The brunet no longer cared about his uptight morals or how much he claimed to hate the redhead…He knew he wanted the general and he didn't care about their situation at least for the moment…

there was no inhibitions any longer, mouths openly ravished each other in heated passion, tongues darted out of their caves to entangle in each other shamelessly, limbs flew everywhere, clutching, caressing, touching and bruising the other as they pulled each other as close as it was humanly possible, the overwhelming feeling of pent up passion and need pulling them together like magnetism.

Driven by sheer lust, the redhead pushed his hips forwards and against the brunet's, who's eyes widened and his pink mouth opened to release a wanton moan…it had felt devastatingly good.

Fueled by the younger male's delicious moans, the redhead pushed Neji against the wall and smashed his hips against the other repeatedly as his hands now caressed Neji's bottom boldly, playing often with the hem of his trousers, fingertips digging under and grazing as much skin as he could from underneath.

The Hyuga gasped as the intense feeling invaded him, igniting his body in fire as he trusted his own hips against the other, repeating the pleasurable friction; he no longer had knowledge of what he was doing, or with who he was doing it, the only thing it mattered was the warmth, the pleasure and lust that racked both their bodies. He no longer cared if he was sharing this special bond with no other than his (supposedly) most loathed enemy.

"Neji…" the warlord moaned, burying his face on the junction between neck and shoulder as the trusting became more frantic and heated, biting on that tempting velvety neck and making the younger boy moan louder and throw his head back in rapture at one particular hard trust. The boy tightened the hold of his legs on the other man's hips and weaved his hands in that red hair that he found so strangely fascinating (…not that he would ever admit it…), concentrating fully on the pleasure he was feeling.

The welcomed friction stopped abruptly, Neji's hazy eyes opened slightly, pale eyes showing pure displeasure and a pink mouth opened to command the other to continue what he had started but strong arms pulled him off the wall and threw him on what he recognized faintly to be the bed, and being drunken by sheer want, he just stretched his arms, demanding the warlord to join him in another battle for dominance.

With nothing but a shameless smirk on those ravished red lips, the older male climbed on top of his victim and ripped the brunet's shirt open desperately, not wasting a single second before tracing the now revealed pale and slightly muscled chest with his deft fingers, tracing the outlines of his collarbone, trailing down to his sternum and then to his nipples, toying with the small pink nubs until they were hard, all the while relishing on the shivers this actions elicited on that pliant and delicious body.

…If it was wrong, then why did it feel so good? The brunet asked himself, biting at his lower lip hard so no encouraging sounds could leave from his mouth, but the redhead's caresses turned harsher and his mouth joined his hands then, licking his feverish skin teasingly before paying full attention to his nipples, engulfing the pink nub and sucking hard.

The brunet threw his head back in sheer enjoyment; breathless and more aroused than ever…

Neji prided himself for knowing everything about himself, but now that he laid there, panting and aroused, he felt that Gaara knew much more about his body, kissing, touching, biting and licking the most sensitive parts of his body, as if he had known him forever, as if they had been lovers.

He didn't know why but he wanted the redhead to kiss him again…to feel his lips against his, to feel his body close to his, to feel his warmth, to see his face… the brunet clutched at Gaara's fiery locks and pulled his head up for another searing kiss, desperately pushing his hips upwards for more of that newly discovered pleasure he was already addicted to.

The older male obliged, his smirk dropping from his face as he rested his head on the brunet's shoulder, biting him hard as he trusted his own hips downwards fast and hard, Neji pushed Gaara's face up and kissed him hard, biting down on that plump lower lip until he tasted blood, the brunet pulled away abruptly and tasted blood before embarking both of them in another kiss…he was addicted, addicted to pure poison.

Then suddenly everything felt too much, his whole body caught fire and then he felt it, an explosion inside him…

Lips the color of a fresh red rose parted open in a silent scream, eyes as bright as diamonds were wide with pure ecstasy before they rolled to the back of his skull as pure white pleasure exploded behind his eyelids, and with a final muffled scream he came, coating his underwear with his release.

His trusts slowed down, his chest heaved up and down heavily as he milked out his release with small thrusts. When the mist in his head lifted up and he opened his eyes, he came face to face with Gaara's still lustful face and all went to hell.

The Hyuga started to squirm against the older male, clearly terrified by his previous actions, but the other was clearly stronger and managed to still him down, pressing his hips down on him. Neji gasped.

"You were fast…way too fast" the redhead smirked mockingly, ruffling back his messy mob of red hair as he stared down at the brunet with those intimidating pair of aquamarine eyes.

He wanted to get out, he needed to get out…what he had done…what they had done…it wasn't right, he shouldn't be sharing this intimate moment with Gaara…he should hate him, despise his guts, want to kill him, but now that he stared up at him he noticed that he no longer felt the need to hurt him…and it scared him to no end.

"Get off" he commanded, but the redhead merely chuckled under his breath, caressing his cheeks with his hand with such delicacy…He lifted his gaze only to get more frightened…those eyes…they were breathtakingly beautiful as they looked down at him, reflecting warmth and…he couldn't even pronounce the name of it, in fear his assumptions would prove right.

"…get off…" he pleaded this time with a very weak voice, his own eyes watering with utmost shame when images of how wanton he had acted overflowed his mind, telling him how he had acted so preposterously like a common whore, not like the demure virgin he actually was.

Gaara shook his head in negation and lowered his face until their lips were barely touching, breathing softly against his skin, he almost conquered back the younger boy, who was starting to lean further up against him, almost in a trance, but when he was about to claim that delicious mouth again, he ended up being thrown off the bed.

"This…this never happened!" he exclaimed, his eyes glinting with lunacy as he fixed his clothes quickly, buttoning his shirt with trembling hands. Gaara frowned and stood up, walking towards the brunet, who now had scurried off the bed.

He was fearful, he was starting to mistrust his own body…just a single touch from that damned red-haired beast and his overly lustful body overpowered his brain.

"This happened, Neji" he drawled, clutching the brunet's hurt arm and trying to throw him back on the bed, unaware of how his chains were tensing.

With fear contorting his usually calm face, Hyuga Neji ran back, successfully snatching back his own arm and fled from the room and away from the man he was so scared of.

Gaara tried to continue his pursue for the door but the chains made their presence known by pushing him back, making him remember that in that place he was just a war prisoner…nothing more.

His smile dropped, his eyes lowered and his hands tightened into fists.

* * *

Hinata had been chewing on her thumb for the past couple of hours, her eyes darting to the closed door leading to her cousin's bedroom with suspicion.

She was no fool, when Neji had busted out of the basement door with cheeks flushed, hair messy and guilty eyes she knew something very bad had happened, and the perpetrator of such act was no other but their prisoner.

Her cousin hadn't left his bedroom not even for supper, which was long gone cold, resting on the table and waiting for someone to eat it up already.

Hinata pulled her finger off her mouth, eyes widening with knowledge…_could it possibly be?_

She shook her head almost instantly, reprehending herself for thinking such dire thoughts when the door creaked open and a very reticent Neji came out looking like a lost deer, skin sickly pale and hair rearranged in a neat ponytail as he sat himself on the dining chair to her left and proceeded to eat his cold meal, all the while ignoring her presence efficiently…that is of course, until she decided to break the highly uncomfortable silence.

"Neji…did something happen while you delivered Gaara's meal?" she asked silently, but it seemed to be too loud to the suddenly dead atmosphere to the point of creating dramatic echoes.

Her cousin's shoulders tensed, his back straightened uncomfortably and his hand stopped in midair its path towards the bread's plate.

"…what are you talking about?" his voice came out strained and boxed, resuming his hand's motion stiffly.

Hinata frowned, something definitely happened and she wanted to know what…

"You seemed…ill when you came out of the room" she pressed, pretending to sew one of Hanabi's old socks as she sent discreet looks towards his way. Her cousin stood up rather abruptly.

"Nothing happened; I felt ill because I haven't been eating properly…and I think I've lost my appetite…again…thanks to you" he murmured darkly, avoiding her in his way out of the dining room.

Hinata bit her lower lip as she saw his retreating back…Something was definitely happening between Neji and the general…her cousin's out of character behavior, his terrible attempts of lying, his uncontrollable blush and the redhead's odd behavior proved right her thoughts…

…_Are they… lovers? _

The dark haired young woman sighed deeply…If those two were involved in a relationship; then it was an utter irony in all senses.

All in all, she needed to talk seriously to the prisoner.

* * *

"Good morning, General" Hinata greeted, opening up the curtains of the dark room to lit it up. The redhead tangled in a mess of sheets on the bed merely growled and pushed his head against the pillows in an attempt to make the sun go away.

"Die" he muttered drowsily below the covers; the girl laughed softly before she made her way to nearest chair to the door.

"I want to discuss something with you, if there is no inconvenience about it" Hinata continued, fixing her eyes on her lap when the red-haired male stood up and tried to fix his clothes.

"What?" he growled, stretching arms and legs. "Well, you see…" the girl said, twisting her hands on the soft material of her dress, a clear sign of apprehension.

"there is something very important I decided not to tell long ago for the sake of my father…but I can't take it any longer…I wish to tell Neji and Hanabi about it before my father sends me away to work as a…slave" she whispered, pursing her lips.

The redhead sat down on the unmade bed, clearly interested in what the girl was about to say.

"Long time ago, when I was still a child, I liked to play hide and seek with my cousins…I really liked to play since I was really small and could fit in very small places" she said, a soft smile tugging at her lips.

"one time, I was hiding in a cupboard in my father's office when he came in with some soldiers; since I was still a child, I could not comprehend what they were talking about, but now I do" she continued.

"Now I know for a fact that my father was making business with the enemies, Gaara" The young woman looked up to stare at him with deep despair.

"So you want to fix it before it's too late?" The redhead asked, glaring at the floor. The girl nodded, nibbling at her lower lip in apprehension.

"…my father sent you my uncle Hizashi as a spokesman when things got out of hand -" she whispered, her voice wavering slightly with deep sentiment, tears were forming in her eyes and she stopped talking. The redhead stood up from his place on the bed, eyes widened as he recalled how bitter Neji sounded upon talking about his family's death…

"…I killed him, thinking it was your father…" Gaara finished.

"Yes…so all hell broke loose once it happened…My father only wanted an excuse to rise against you, Gaara, so he could then make business with the enemy more openly."

The general gritted his teeth in barely contained anger…so it all ways pretty much a set up.

"…but he did not expect you to attack the clan" the girl continued, sounding bitter as she spoke

"So that's why he escaped with us just moments before the attack took place" she finished, daring to look up from her lap to see the warlord fuming silently and gripping the bed sheets tightly.

"I'm really sorry, General...but now that things got clear to me, I decided not to live in lies any longer…I will accept my destiny as a slave…but I think that neither Neji or Hanabi deserves to keep living in a lie"

She whispered, already backing up to the door.

"I will tell them…" she said, staring at the wooden door. The redhead stood up from the bed. "Are you sure about it?" he asked.

"Yes…I can't let them believe you're the only one to blame" she responded, turning around and strolling all the way until they were face to face. She smiled.

"I have one more question to ask, if is not much of a bother…" The redhead crocked his face, a smirk of his own forming on his lips. "Yes?"

The small young woman looked him square in the eye. "Are you in love with my cousin?"

The redhead looked down at her, measuring her silently.

"Oh don't worry…I just want the truth" she assured, trying to look untroubled.

They stared at each other for a few uncomfortable minutes, the redhead trying to decide whether to lie or just tell her the truth and the young woman tried to decipher what was going on inside that complicated mind.

Thick silence engulfed the room before a quiet "…Yes" was finally stated.

"I knew it…" the young woman whispered. The redhead cocked his head to the side.

"…I'm sorry… about your departure…" he said after an awkward silence, fixing his gaze on the floor.

The small young woman smiled softly, her eyes sad.

"I knew you weren't bad since the beginning…" she stated, her eyes finding his as he lifted his own from the floor in surprise.

"Just…be patient with my cousin…" she mumbled. The redhead nodded dumbly, surprised beyond belief by the woman's sharp eye.

"Well then, I must get going" said she, tiptoeing to peck him in the cheek as a goodbye.

Just then, the door swung open and a furious brunet stormed in, throwing the trail of breakfast on the floor in his wake.

"Well well, so now you decide to flirt with my cousin?" he snarled, his beautiful eyes filled with pure hatred, wait…was that jealousy?

The young woman shook her head frantically, running all the way to her cousin.

"It is not what you think, Neji" she cried.

"Hinata…please leave" the brunet growled, pushing her out of the bedroom and closing the door on her face unkindly.

Turning around, the brunet stormed all the way to the redhead.

"What's next? Shall I send Hanabi in so you can kiss her as well?!" he cried pungently, pushing at Gaara's chest.

"Jealous?" The general asked, a smirk forming on his face. The brunet stopped abruptly his tantrum, pursing his lips.

"You wish" he growled, pushing him off against the nearest wall.

Gaara frowned.

"You can insult me, humiliate me, but never start a fight without suffering any consequence"

And just like that, the redhead threw himself at the surprised brunet, like a lion ready to strike a prey…

* * *

AN: oh my...Gaara finally snapped...I wonder what will happen next.

thank you all for your kind reviews!! (even though this story it isn't anything special, really --.)

Click the blue? button that says "submit review" so I can have an idea of what you think about the story :)


	8. Domination

story by: I am ghost

disclaimer: i do not own naruto or any of its characters

* * *

**Chapter 7**

"Domination"

As sudden as their verbal fight had started, so did the violence. Neji never knew why they always ended up trying to strangle the other to death…it was a mystery he didn't crave to resolve anytime soon for more pressing matters, such as a very infuriated looking redhead about to tackle him to the floor was more important now.

The warlord threw himself forward to the brunet like a lion ready to strike its victim, the deep red and perpetual disarray of his hair and the animalistic feline eyes as imposing and as aggressive as those of said animal. He looked awfully intimidating and powerful, a fact that almost succeeded in frightening him.

He thought the chains would hold the beast back, so he continued mocking the infuriated lion, he was so fascinated by how those iridescent feline eyes were glaring at him that he didn't notice his miscalculation of the chain's length and with great dismay found out too late.

He would have had time to escape from the lion's clutches if he wouldn't be so petrified under the smoldering gaze, it was even hypnotic, such beautiful eyes…why on earth would those eyes end up on the possession of such a despicable villain?

So muddled was the state his mind was under he didn't even noticed when their bodies had collided, he pretty much became aware of it until they were on the floor, the lion on top of its victim, who happened to be no other but him, Hyuga Neji. He instantly threw his fist upwards, which connected to his delight on the redhead's face. Why wouldn't they stop fighting, he didn't know…what he did know was that he wasn't going to back off anytime soon.

They fought with a passion it surprised both parties; it was both asphyxiating and terrible how they proceeded to injure the other without reservation or any compassion whatsoever; punch after punch, kick after kick and glare after glare, they were both benefiting of it, for they had found a way to vent out all the anger and frustration they had been accumulating from the other and what they needed at the moment was reassurance, to know that they were capable of feeling; as much as it may sound cruel, they needed to hate in order to survive.

But his wishful thinking and analytical mind soon banished with his liberty; for he had, much to his chagrin, ended up under the lion's mercy.

"Release me" he commanded proudly like the king he thought he was, his voice sounding highly pretentious and arrogant, and would he be under other circumstance he would definitely flip his hair over his shoulder and raise an eyebrow in a very conceited way, but right now he was in no position to do so, lest the warlord decide to kill him in all his berserk glory.

But alas was he wrong; the redhead merely drew a smile on his face, a smile so aggressive and cruel it sent chills down his spine. Sensing danger in that mocking glare, the brunet pushed the other's shoulders with both hands but then he noticed what a big mistake that was, for he had given clear advantage to his enemy the moment he had pushed his hands forward, however, before he could do something about it, the redhead had already twisted both his hands over his head, ignoring his injured one and leaving him completely helpless under the deep scrutiny of his body.

Being so exposed and unarmed was nothing a human being desired by nature and being under this disposition was greatly despised by someone as defensive and conceited as Neji, who at the moment decided to draw some space between them, seeing how he had driven the warlord to the boiling point, but no matter how hard he pushed the other, the only thing that he provoked was a heated glare from the dangerous redhead.

He pushed the other in a desperate attempt to break free with his injured hand, but the instant his hand collided with the strong bony shoulders of his rival, those catlike eyes glared down at him, a deep azure shade engulfing his hypnotizing eyes instead of the cool aquamarine he was used to see. Those eyes trailed hungrily over his body before a pink tongue darted out to lick dry lips and something stirred to life down south, making its presence known by pocking the brunet on the thigh.

Diamond eyes widened in recognition and an instant blush stained his cheeks. He released his hand from the clutches of the indignant lion and instantly threw both injured hand and all to push and hit him with more force, trying but failing to get away, for the unaffected-looking warlord had found both his hands before they could inflict real damage with only one of his and pushed them high above his head, restraining him under a firm and ungentle grip; but Neji was not a quitter by nature; in fact, he was the opposite and instantly made this fact known by continuing his struggle with more intensity, twisting both his legs and arms but the grip on his arms tightened around both his hands, hurting in the process his tender hand. Tears appeared in the corner of his eyes, maybe out of frustration or because of the intense pain he felt, but the other seemed unmoved by the brunet's pain, that fact aside, what really frightened the poor restless Neji the greatest was the evil smirk curling those pink lips and the distorted glare…this man was, by any means, a totally different character than the half-hearted and witty Gaara that loved dearly to tease him but never intended harm upon him.

Maybe if he would have paid more attention earlier to all those small details he wouldn't suffer what he was about to encounter; but it was only at the moment the redhead decided to straddle him fully, to sit down oh so boldly on top on him and then lean in just a breath away from his ear that he discovered, with scandalous fear that this was taking a turn for the worse.

The brunet tensed before commanding him once again to release him, but this time his voice was weak and shamefully fearful, it was no longer commanding or pretentious and that twist in the brunet's actions pleased the warlord greatly, for he liked people to fear him, to submit to him; and if the pretty brunet refused to be submissive, then he would be delighted to make him.

And so, he leaned in until he was close to his ear and pushed the rich dark locks of hair aside, taking pleasure in the shiver it provoked on the boy's body. Fear, yes, he wanted fear, he desired to see the utmost terror in that beautiful face.

"I won't let you boss me around like you did to **him**, Hyuga" the lion purred maliciously near his ear, his warm breath tickling the sensitive expanse of delicate skin on his neck before a wet pink tongue darted out of its cave to tease the younger brunet by liking the shell of his ear playfully.

In that instant, Neji felt lady fear gripping his neck with her cold unforgiving hands, numbing him and teasing him, her grip around his neck reassuring as she deprived him from much needed air…At that moment his suspicions were proven right, this man wasn't Gaara, he was the dangerous stranger he had met the night before when he had so cruelly snapped his wrist. This was definitely what he was dreading since the beginning of this whole scenario.

"Who are you?!" he cried, greatly intimidated by the unblinking gaze the other casted on him. The warlord chuckled darkly, still too dangerously close to his personal space, his lips barely touching his skin with wraithlike kisses.

"I am your demise" the warlord hissed, baring his pointed canines in a snarl.

White eyes couldn't be wider, fear deeply evident in his chalky white face as he realized he had locked himself inside the hungry beast's cage.

With only the desire to flee from the demented redhead in mind, the young brunet struggled to get free from the iron grip he was under, using whatever means to get away, biting, hitting and pushing with all his might but the strong body on top of him wouldn't even budge. The brunet looked up and cursed under his breath, there he was, staring down at him with those piercing dark blue eyes of his that possessed a glint of malevolent intent and insanity, a deep scowl twisting his lips into a nasty smirk that arouse unwanted chills down his back.

Panicked beyond question, the brunet realized at that moment that his suppositions were right…this man was not the harmless and pathetic redhead he could insult freely…this man was the beast, the berserk demon that tore villages apart and killed innocent people without any mercy. This man could easily snap bones as if they were twigs. He struggled some more in vain by twisting his legs and hips, actually thinking that it would wriggle him free but instead of actually releasing himself, he had ended up pushing up his hips against the redhead, instantly feeling the heated hardness rubbing against him pleasantly. His eyes widened with both indescribable horror and restlessness while azure eyes simply stared at him hungrily.

And he couldn't be more horrified.

"If you wanted it so badly you should have asked earlier" the lion, no, demon asked, crushing him against the coldness of the floor, mouth devouring his, both hands strengthening the hold of his and pushing them higher above the brunet as insistent gaunt hips pushed down on his, sensually rubbing against his firmly.

"s…stop" he asked weakly in between passionate kisses, trying to break free from the strong grip he was under, but he was easily crushed and he didn't like it one bit. High above him, the redhead watched him with unblinking wild eyes, searching for any sign of either pleasure or discomfort and upon finding a mixture of both he couldn't be more pleased.

"Release me at once!" the brunet cried desperately, finally releasing one hand from the painful grasp and punching him in the face as hard as he was able to. His fist hurt, but the fierce redhead looked unaffected, a wicked smirk stretching his now bloodied lips.

He wriggled his hands, desperately hoping he could tear them apart from the redhead's grip but the only thing that happened was the painful digging of fingernails and bones on his tender flesh. He threw the warlord a pleading look, desperately hoping he would be left alone…but the only thing that happened was a cruel smirk.

"This is all you got?" He asked, not the usual husky but gentle voice, the voice he employed now was violent and borderline animalistic, frightening further the helpless boy underneath.

Neji's mind went haywire, thinking of possible ways to escape before something horrible happened to him, but he was thrown out of his thoughts when a rough hand slapped him across the face, sending his head to the side violently. His eyes widened…did he just…slapped him?

"I asked…is this really all the proud Hyuga Neji got?" the psychotic redhead growled before he bit down on his neck harshly, drawing blood and making the smaller boy release a weak whimper that he had tried to retain under clenched teeth.

There was still no response but a dark glare from pale eyes, oh yes, Neji was proud and he refused to comply with him, not even in the slightest and that aroused the redhead even more.

He bit his lower lip hard when the wild man on top of him clutched roughly his free hand and pushed it again high above his head and against his other hand, the chains attached to his wrists clinking behind the redhead in a painful reminded to the demon of his imprisonment. Neji wasn't known for his brilliance and quickness of mind for nothing, he always had a solution for everything, a fact that made him stand out from any other local healers, and his logical mind quickly explained that fighting back wouldn't help in this case, for he was pretty much overpowered by the older male as much as he hated to admit it; so now in his desperation he opted to try something else, something that would surely gain back his freedom…maybe if he asked him nicely or even begged he would be released. He bit his lower lip in sheer frustration…no, he wouldn't beg! That was definitely out of question; he was far too proud to do something so…humiliating!

Instead he opted to yell, yes, in his delusional and fear-ridden mind he actually thought that yelling for help was far less humiliating than begging, and maybe if he did it loud enough his family would hear him and come to his aid…this was definitely less humiliating than actually begging; and so he did, he started shouting as loud as his lungs permitted while the redhead watched in amusement, not really doing anything to cover the other's mouth, only tightening his grip on the smaller teen's hands and legs.

"…Stop! Please…HELP!" he yelled, hoping his desperate cries will reach the ears of his cousins and uncle, but then he remembered earlier events and impending doom hung over his head like a dark halo.

He remembered clearly his uncle telling him that he was leaving to the nearest village to buy some "_necessities_" which anybody with common sense could translate it into him going to a local pub to submerge himself in alcohol, and Hinata and Hanabi had probably gone to bathe at the local river. The whole house was deserted.

As if reading his thoughts, the redhead leaned in further until they were nose to nose, breaths intermingled.

"No one will help you" he whispered, not really noticing that he had shifted upwards his lower body just enough to release the other's legs. Noticing this, Neji smiled, closing the scarce distance between their faces and softly imprisoned his captor's lips in his. This had the desired effect, the redhead's eyes widened like saucers and for a swift moment he saw a flash of the old Gaara on those cold unforgiving eyes, but as sudden as it had fleeted inside his eyes it had disappeared, and the horrible creature on top of him responded ardently, pushed harder against his mouth and shoving his tongue inside his mouth and threw him completely to the floor, now entirely shifting off his weight from the brunet's legs so he could properly ravish the brunet's mouth.

_Now!-_ Neji thought and he released those awfully tempting lips from his and smirked. The redhead looked puzzled for a second and angry diamond eyes glared up at him; defiance clear in his eyes before one of his legs flew upwards, effectively kicking the other hard on the groin.

The reaction was instant, the redhead's eyes widened, pain evident in those wide orbs before he winced like a wounded animal and fell on top of him, releasing both his hands instantly. The brunet quickly pushed him off and the redheaded warlord curled instantly, hands covering his aching masculinity, Neji smiled in victory and quickly rose to his feet, admiring with utmost pleasure how the now defenseless lion groaned and twitched and he was about to run away when a hand shot up and clutched his ankle and pulled hard, the brunet lost his balance and with a surprise yelp fell down next to the quivering redhead.

The brunet looked to the side and found furious blue eyes glaring at him. Still in pain, the redhead pushed himself up and straddled the other's waist.

"That was low" the gruff voice replied while he pushed apart the teenager's legs with his own, nestling his still hard and hot member in between the brunet's legs. Neji tried to pry close his legs but it was unsuccessful, seeing how completely baffled he was.

'_Is he made of metal or what?!'_ his indignant mind cried out, but his mouth yelled something completely different.

"What's wrong with you?!" the brunet continued to push him without a result. The suddenly malicious redhead only growled before he grabbed his injured hand, Neji instantly froze and pain blurred his eyes and he instantly begged for him to stop, but the redhead merely smiled, shook his head adamantly and twisted his wrist, a sick little laugh escaping from his throat when a loud crack was heard.

Neji cried out as blinding pain clouded his vision, tears forming on the corner of his eyes as he saw with much horror that the bandages on his wrist were slowly staining red…his hand was now truly battered and he vaguely wandered if it was going to fully recover someday from all the injury it received.

"Don't you dare defy me, you insolent slut" the warlord whispered close to his ear, holding both his hands over his head with a strong grip as he slid down his free hand over his long soft neck and down his prominent collarbone until it reached the collar of his cotton blouse, pushing loose the first three buttons.

Neji's pained pale eyes found dark blue ones and silently begged, begged to be released and spared from his wicked ways, but there was no response.

"There is nothing wrong with me" the redheaded creature replied almost to himself after a few seconds of deafening silence, kissing him on his neck with unusual tenderness before he whispered in his ear something that froze his blood.

"…in fact, you're the one who's going to be wrong once I have my way with you, darling" he said, licking his neck before biting down forcefully and sucking on the wound he had inflicted earlier, greedily lapping at the sweet pure blood that he drew, instantly addicted and drunken by its endearing and virginal taste.

The brunet started to squirm under the redhead's weight, his discomfort and pain turning quickly into indescribable horror. He was going to be raped, and there was no one around to save him.

The redhead chuckled darkly, looking at him almost lovingly before he captured his lips hungrily; the metallic binds on his wrists tensing fully, warning him with clinking voices that he could not go any further away from the bed. The redhead ignored it and greedily abused those pretty pink lips until they bled and then, still unsatisfied, proceeded to bite and kiss his elegant neck and shoulders until purple bruises and angry bite marks adorned the ivory skin, the beautiful brunet thrashing below him while he gasped for breath, looking breathtakingly gorgeous under the dim amber light the sun casted over them.

"You do not control me…understood?" he growled, releasing one hand to yank open the white blouse, buttons flew around them haphazardly as the redhead devoured with his eyes the small yet muscled torso of the teenager, lust clouding his vision as he desecrated with his eyes the wonderful hard chest, small perky nipples and tiny feminine waist and slightly wider hips…but what was the most beautiful sight to behold was the display of blended emotions on his lovely face; confusion, fury, pain, desperation, fearfulness and innocence. In all his fragility and helplessness, Hyuga Neji could never be more beautiful and it was almost too dificult for him to refrain from mimiquing so many scenarios playing in his mind, all of them involving one restless brunet screaming his name in ecstasy while he pounded into his tight hole; but to know that he was also a virgin was even more arousing than the beauty itself and the ugly perverseness inside him commanded him to comply to his carnal desires in a sheer animalistic way; to know he would be the one to deflower such exquisite creature was enough to drive his libido to its full drive.

Neji, beautiful Neji almost to the brink of tears, overpowered by him and completely at his mercy, exposed tender body of a young divine being; pale, flawless, lean and slightly muscled, a treasure in its sheer perfection; white eyes as beautiful as a pair of diamonds were brokenly staring at him from lowered dark lustrous lashes, and a proud mouth was begging him to stop, lips as soft and pink like the delicate petals of a Sweet briar now thorn and abused by his own black and tainted lips, the delicate rose petals opening and closing as he begged; his skin, as soft and flawless as the finest chinese silk, oh so tempting to admiring eyes…and then, a lone tear ran down the planes of a gaunt high cheekbone, a tear as clear as crystal and as devastatingly beautiful as the raging sea; the angry purple and red bruises on his skin a remainder that he was fragil, and sweetest red ambrosia pouring out of one bruise on his elegant swan-like neck…and then he realized that he was tainting a pure incarnation of perfection, trying to destroy it, break it for he could not stand its flawlessness.

And then he hesitated, the human in him, buried deep inside in the recess of his mind resurfaced, telling him to stop whatever he was doing, but the demon, the horrible demon only mocked him, assuring him that there would be no way to save his precious insolent Neji, for he had already taken control of his body and he could do nothing but watch and enjoy…

In an instant, those hungry lips were trailing kisses down his chest, leaving a path of ardent passion and hunger on the skin, marking his exposed torso in a primitive attempt to claim him as his propriety, his free hand tracing the skin almost tenderly for a few moments, and as if to erase his mistake, he tore the flesh with his fingernails, leaving angry red marks in his wake.

"You're going to pay, Hyuga" the redhead whispered huskily before he tore open the crotch buttons on his figure-flattering trousers. The brunet's eyes shot open and he immediately began to squirm again, sheer panic evident in his eyes. but instead of achieving his wishes, the only thing he managed to do was increase the friction between their nether regions and to his never-ending horror and shame, he felt his own member returning to life; sensing this, the redhead moaned gutturally, throwing his head back and arching his spine into a perfect arc, and the brunet couldn't tear his eyes away from him, he actually enjoyed the view, even if it was secretly. Was he so enthralled that he had missed the opening the redhead had showed in his strong hold and did nothing to get free, too engrossed in the demon's attractive face to notice. Suddenly, the friction stopped altogether and lusty eyes drunkenly admired his whole body before the redheaded warlord pushed him around roughly until his face was pressed hard against the cold wooden floor, Neji could feel a shiver running down his back as he felt eyes admiring his body, if not violating him, for a second before the needy redhead shot his hands forward and cupped his clothed ass, kneading and squeezing the mounds before he pushed the garment off with difficulty, for the panicked brunet thrashed around and squeezed his legs close, trying desperately to keep the garment on.

The redhead growled low before he took a wealth of long dark hair and pulled harshly, the brunet instantly stopped fighting and cried out. Still with a firm grip on his both his hands, the skillful redhead managed to pull both leather boots out of the smaller teen's feet and then proceeded to get rid of his trousers, desperate to admire the most beautiful body hidden behind the annoying clothes.

…and then his eyes came to see one curious view; linen undergarments. He quirked an eyebrow…The majority of men at that time didn't wear undergarments for they were uncomfortable and got in the way for many activities, but undergarments in the case of the younger brunet seemed to fit him just fine, for he had such a high conception of propriety and decorum it fitted him perfectly.

He flipped over the brunet around as if he was a rag doll and when the warlord fixed his eyes on the brunet once again they were determined, determined to make the other his, even if it had to be by force.

But something both unexpected and surprising averted his attention elsewhere; the warlord raised an eyebrow as he admired the prominent bulge in the lower linen garment.

"Already hard?" he chuckled darkly, liking his dry lips. Neji thrashed under him, his angry eyes glaring daggers at him.

"Get off!" he yelled, wriggling his feminine legs until he kicked him in the crotch for the second time, infuriating further the dangerously angry and crazed male.

But anatomy was still anatomy, and the redhead wasn't totally inhuman and the reaction was instant, the redheaded beast's face scrunched up with pain and he fell down on top of him, clutching his hurt pride with both hands, as if to erase the indescribable pain. The brunet threw him away and quickly stood up, but before he could gain his balance, again a hand shot up to clutch his ankle with such force it made the younger boy cringe. Neji lowered his gaze, to see angry blue eyes glaring straight at him.

"you're not going anywhere" he growled, yanking at his leg violently, Neji wriggled his feet, as if shaking a very clingy dog from his leg, but it only worsened the case and both the tugging and the shaking knocked him out of balance, making the usually graceful brunet fall down on his ass for a second time.

Neji couldn't be angrier; he had fallen for the same trick! That really was a blow to his pride and ego; but he had no time to ponder things better for as soon as the angry redhead had knocked him down, he pinned down the younger male and without taking a second glance, he ripped apart the undergarments, this time with no difficulty, for he had pushed apart the legs of the disagreeable brunet before he could squeezed his legs close, a furious blush stained the pretty boy's cheeks as he did his best to cover himself.

"STOP!" he yelled desperately, using both teeth and nails as a last resort against the redhead. He was scared, no, he was downright horrified of what he was about to experience; sex had always being a taboo topic amongst people, and it was still pretty much a mystery for the sixteen year old, who somehow managed to understand that it was a common practice between men and women that usually happened in matrimony and this practice sometimes led to pregnancies…but between men?! It was aberrant and unholy! Besides, it was downright impossible… How on earth would two men could… his eyes widened immensely as he deciphered _how_ it could be done between men. No! He couldn't let the redhead possess him; he couldn't let his dignity to be broken by the deeds of such a horrible creature; but the warlord was still as serene as ever, eyeing his now naked body with shameless desire. The brunet tried to cover his erected manhood, but the older man had both his hands secured in the same fashion as before but now he had pinned down both his legs with his own, immobilizing him completely, leaving him hopeless and exposed.

He knew that he was completely trapped and he would not let pride get the better of him, so he begged, begged like a starving beggar did for bread.

"Please, let me go…" he finally whispered against the floor, his silky dark hair falling around his face like a dark halo, giving him an air of a fallen angel.

A rough hand darted away from his chest to squeeze down his impressive arousal, the brunet's eyes widened, it had felt good, no; truth to be told it had felt wonderful. The hand clutching his member started to slowly go up and down and Neji only closed his eyes and bit his lower lip hard, so not a sound of pleasure would leave his treacherous mouth. What Gaara was doing to him was unholy but it felt so damn good!

His thrashing completely died as the pleasure fogged his mind. He forgot about everything, even the other male on the room, he forgot about himself, about his surroundings and morals and concentrated on the gratifying sensations he was experiencing, already lost in the seas of carnal pleasure.

Above him the redhead was smirking, pumping hard and fast the suddenly submissive boy below, smearing the milky pre-cum from the tip around the whole length and caressing the taut orbs just below his price, loving the tiny noises that managed to escape from Neji's lips from time to time; but the throbbing in his pants was turning painful and he needed to get his release.

The brunet let a startle yelp leave his lips as he was flipped over his stomach violently, and he felt a hot hardness rubbing in between his legs. The fog lifted up and the brunet rapidly tried to flee as he realized what that the thing rubbing in between his ass was.

The warlord chuckled darkly, cupping the brunet's perfect ass with both hands and kneading the soft flesh with fascination.

Neji squirmed under him, turning his head around so he could face the redhead.

"Please, I beg you, let me go!" he cried brokenly, desperate, repulsed, confused and above all scared.

"Is the all mighty Neji begging?" the demon taunted and for once Neji needn't see him in order to feel the cruel smirk on the other's face. Swallowing his pride for once, the teen begged more desperately, one plead escaping after another unceasingly, like a new personal mantra.

He was again lifted but this time to his knees, a hand pushing his head on the floorboards as another pushed both his legs apart.

Neji yelled frantically this time, his eyes widened with dread and his whole face distorted with panic as he again tried to get free from the stronghold.

A warm chest was pressed down on his back and a mouth lowered to his ear, the moist tongue again lapping at some bruise the redhead had inflicted, Neji felt some shifting behind him, something that signaled him in alarm about hands getting rid of pants.

"and this is how the high Hyuga Neji submits to me" the older male whispered mockingly once he had disposed of his trousers, taking hold of both his hips with his unforgiving hands and pressed his hips forward against his most private area.

Neji cried out in pain once he felt the enormous rod digging its way inside him. Throwing his head around, he fixed his watery diamond eyes on the redhead's impious ones, begging heartbrokenly to be spared. The redhead merely widened his wicked smirk before he gripped those feminine hips tighter and pushed all the way inside with one potent thrust that sent the beautiful brunet angel forward in one violent swing.

It hurt a lot, to be stretched so far as to allow a huge penis inside his virginal hole; he felt hot tears spilling from his eyes as he cried out. The redhead on top of him was panting heavily as he sheathed himself in the smaller boy slowly, the dryness and hotness of the impossibly tight brunet almost throwing him over the edge. The brunet vaguely registered the faint sounds of chains hitting the floor repeatedly as he was torn apart from the inside.

Tears spilled down freely down ivory skin as white eyes were still unblinkingly staring at the redhead, broken beyond remedy.

Intense pain like scorching fire coursed inside him, and he felt as if he was tore in two as the redhead on top of him continued to violate him.

"Please…" the brunet cried brokenly, his fingernails scratching the floorboards as he let sobs wrack his body; but the redhead merely grunted, pushing harder against Neji until he was fully sheathed in.

Neji let his upper body lie down completely on the floorboards and closed his eyes tightly as he sobbed, his whole body shaking as the older male panted harshly above him, hands gripping painfully his hips.

And soon enough the redhead started to move, injuring the brunet further with each powerful thrust, the brunet cried out as he was pushed forward with the force of the other's shoving movements, his body tensing and making the other male let out pleasured moans, the thrusts became quick and hard, and somewhere in between all the pain, the brunet felt something wet inside in him and soon enough his sharp nose identified the stench of blood and he panicked. He was bleeding.

"So…tight…" the redheaded demon whispered in between ragged breath as he plunged into him, the dryness of their intercourse adding more friction, making it almost unbearable for him. Pain and pleasure so intertwined it was hard to distinguish one from the other.

He stopped struggling and stopped screaming but tears were still falling down his pretty face, he knew that moving his body would damage him further, so he stopped fighting and submitted to the awful demon on top.

The strong smell of blood and sweat crinkled the brunet's nose, who was now too far-gone to fight back the redhead. He just lay there in defeat, eyes wide open and body tensed as his most dreaded nightmare continued to smash his hips against his aching ass, impaling his massive erection into him mercilessly.

Should sex feel like this? He asked himself as he was pushed once more to his back and he could now actually see the redhead plunging into him, his face twisted in sheer pleasure.

This thing they were doing, it didn't hold the intimacy and romanticism it should; this was cold and cruel, unfeeling and detained no emotion, it was so much like revenge.

All those dreams he had concerning the redhead were nothing like this, he felt nothing but pain now and he wasn't even aroused…but this spiteful man, he was truly enjoying it. But what really destroyed him was the fact that he no longer wanted to scream or fight back. He had given up.

The thrusts became wild and rapid, the breathing more uneven, and the blood was slowly creeping down his thighs as the warlord plunged deeper and deeper and quicker until with one low growl, the redhead's eyes rolled behind his lowered eyelids and a thick creamy substance was shot deep inside him. The brunet gasped at the strange feeling while the other man gave jerky thrusts, riding his orgasm to completion.

When the redhead finally opened his eyes, they were no longer a dark azure shade, they were the warm aquamarine eyes possessed by the Gaara he knew.

The brunet quickly pushed him away from him and curled himself into a fetal position, tears still running down his cheeks as heartbreaking sobs wracked his whole body.

"Neji…?" the redhead asked in panic, touching his shoulder hesitantly. The brunet flinched and instantly drew back.  
"Don't touch me!" he cried, desperately drawing the random clothes strewn close to him in a desperate attempt to cover his broken body from the horrified redhead.

Just in that instant someone pushed open the door with such force it made the whole room tremble. Gaara looked up from the broken Neji to a pair of mad pale eyes. Hyuga Hiashi saw with horror the strewn body of his nephew; from the bruised state the brunet's lips were to his abused neck and torso, then to the ugly red marks in the form of fingers on his feminine hips and finally to his bleeding anus that was slowly ejecting the white evidence of the redhead's horrible misdeed, at that moment he was at loss of words.

Horror rapidly transformed into anger and anger into sheer fury. Hiashi stormed inside with the force of a hurricane, took the redhead by his shirt collar and punched him straight in the face. The warlord did nothing to protect himself; he just let the beating continue, his eyes fixed straight ahead; he deserved it after all.

The brunet pushed himself up to a seating position, flinching when his sore ass made contact with the cold floor, and then fixed his gaze at some point on the opposite wall, the white and red substance slowly crawling down from his thighs to the floor by the force of gravity, the trail of blood and semen sickening and infuriating further the already wild Hiashi, who continue to pummel the redhead until there was a loud clearing of a throat. Hiashi stopped his assault and pursed his lips, right behind him, two enemy soldiers stood, proud and menacing under the ocher light of the sun leaking from the high windows.

With all the grace a drunken man could muster, Hyuga Hiashi yelled at them to take him away and Neji watched with hollow eyes as the redhead was dragged out of the room, murmuring weak apologies until the three men disappeared from sight.

Hiashi took a deep breath and did his best not to vomit, for the revolting stench invading the room almost made him lost his composure.

Neji was still on the floor, hugging his knees to his chest, a lost expression on his tear-stricken face as he pushed his clothes against his body tighter as if trying to disappear behind them.

* * *

AN: thank you all for your reviews and favs; especially to Chromde, TenshiXXX, Black Shadow of the Dark, Hotaru-ai, emyon, BlondeAtHeart2, GoldenKitsuneHime13, PlayfulSylph, The Book of Counted Sorrows, Sen the Crazy Cat Lady, kdbeans2k9, KoiinuNe, Shinobi Bloodshed, shaedey, SangoStar, Anelir-sensei, hana koikogoro, Fuuten Pumkynnz, Sinetta, SasuneUchiha, Crystal, twilightlove94, blonde-de-nuit, Analei & Twisted Badger and all the readers for your support :).  
also, the story is not ending now or anytime soon, so please keep reading and review! 


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